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The passion for planting ornamental shrubs by amateur gardeners was particularly reflected in Thunberg’s barberries. The variety of varieties allows you to intertwine different sizes and colors to realize all kinds of fantasies in landscape design. Maria barberry deserves special attention with its combination of bright yellow and red flowers.
Description of barberry Thunberg Maria
The ornamental thorny shrub Thunberg Maria barberry was bred by Polish breeders with qualities that allow the plant to live peacefully throughout almost the entire territory of Russia. It is considered one of the most unpretentious and frost-resistant of the Barberry family. The description of Maria barberry allows us to distinguish it in the photo from other Thunberg varieties:
- maximum height in adulthood is 1-1.5 m;
- the columnar crown is formed by erect stems and dense foliage, reaching a width of 0.5 to 1 m;
- The leaves are round, slightly oblong, large. They change color throughout the growing season and from spring to fall. They turn from pinkish-yellow to bright yellow with a dark red border, and in October they turn the bush into an orange-red column;
- the flowers are small, ball-like, yellow and frequent, bloom in May, surrounding the entire bush with a delicate halo, and have a pungent odor;
- the fruits are oblong, bright red, ripen in October and hang on the branches for a long time;
- the root system is small, with one main root and numerous branching lateral processes;
- annual growth is about 10 cm.
Barberry Maria has a lot of advantages, for which it received a prestigious award at the competition. The shrub is not picky about the composition of the soil, is drought-resistant, winter-hardy, and tolerates urban conditions well. In spring you can admire its numerous flowers; in summer it is impossible to take your eyes off the golden-yellow leaves with a red border. In autumn, bright red berries are added to the outfit.
The stable dense crown of Maria barberry allows you to cut it into any shape you like. And the bright colors of the leaves can be compared in their attractiveness with flowers. With age, the crown becomes spreading and fan-shaped.
Barberry Maria in landscape design
The main purpose of most Thunberg varieties is decorative. The variety of foliage colors and shapes of these shrubs allows you to create a picturesque picture in the garden from barberries alone. The barberry variety Thunberg Maria in landscape design will enliven any area with its golden color. It can be planted singly or in a dense tree-shrub composition, creating a mixborder.
Alternating ribbons of different varieties of barberry of varying lengths allows you to literally draw unique living patterns.The Thunberg Maria barberry in the photo looks great when planting an edge, an alpine hill, and creates an accent in combination with coniferous and herbaceous plants. The vertically growing stems and dense crown seem to be specially created for the formation of a hedge.
Planting and caring for barberry Thunberg Maria
Adapted to Russian climatic conditions, the barberry variety Maria does not require special conditions when planting and caring for it. The planting procedure is carried out in the same way as with other barberries. You just need to know that this variety does not like a lot of water, and it needs fertilizing, pruning, loosening and mulching for lush and beautiful growth.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
Before planting barberry Maria in a permanent place, pay attention to the condition of the roots. If they are a little dry, the seedling is immersed in water for several hours. If a bush is planted from a container with a fertile mixture, it must first be taken out along with the soil so that it does not fall off and moistened with water.
All members of the Barberry family love sunny places. Thunberg's Maria variety is no exception, although it was bred for more severe climatic conditions. The most favorable area for it will be an area that is illuminated by the sun almost all day and without strong drafts.
Maria barberry grows best in light, well-drained soils without stagnant groundwater. If overmoistened, the roots of the shrub may rot. Before planting, dig up the area to remove weeds and loosen the soil. If it is very acidic, add lime (300 g per bucket of water) or wood ash.
Planting barberry Thunberg Maria
If Thunberg Maria barberry is planted to form a hedge, then there should be 4 seedlings per 1 m. A single planting should allow the bush to fully open its crown, so only 1 bush is planted per 1 m. In group planting, the space for this variety should be from 0.5 to 0.7 m in size. Algorithm:
- For one bush, dig a hole measuring 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 m. If you are planting a hedge, you can immediately dig a trench for all the seedlings.
- Drainage is poured at the bottom from what is at hand: coarse sand, broken bricks, crushed stone, etc., to prevent stagnation of water in the root system.
- A planting substrate is prepared from sand, turf soil, and humus in approximately different proportions. The hole is half filled with substrate.
- Place the seedling in the center of the hole, add fertile mixture to the level of the entire plot and compact it.
After the soil has subsided, fill it up to the required level and mulch the tree trunk circle with wood shavings, small decorative stones, and dry grass.
Watering and fertilizing
The barberry variety Thunberg Maria does not like a lot of moisture, so water it as needed and no more than once a week, in a circle near the trunk, under the root, trying not to get on the foliage.
This crop is undemanding when it comes to fertilizers. After planting in a fertile mixture, it needs to be fed with mineral complexes in the 2nd year. If the soil on the site is fertile, then it is enough to apply fertilizers once every 2-3 years.
Trimming
If the bush is grown singly and the bush is not supposed to be trimmed, then only sanitary pruning is carried out in the spring. Remove frozen branches, as well as dry and diseased stems.
When forming a hedge from Maria barberry or to give the bush with its yellow foliage a certain shape, pruning should be done 2 times a year:
- At the beginning of June;
- in August.
Preparing for winter
Barberry Maria is a winter-hardy shrub and is almost completely preserved in severe frosts down to -300C. This variety does not require special shelter. Gardeners in the Northern regions advise covering young bushes for the winter for the first 2 years:
- spruce branches;
- fallen leaves;
- wrap in burlap.
Reproduction
For the first planting, it is better to buy seedlings in containers with fertile substrate in a specialized store and plant them in the spring, when the ground has warmed up. And then you can propagate Thunberg Maria barberry by seeds, green cuttings or dividing the bush.
Seeds are planted both in the fall before the first frost and in the spring. Autumn sowing is done according to the following scheme:
- Collect the seeds, squeeze out, wash, and dry.
- Prepare the bed - loosen it, water it with water.
- Deepen the seeds with your finger 2-3 cm into the soil.
- Cover with film until it snows.
For spring sowing, seeds are also prepared until dry in the fall. But before planting in the spring, they must undergo stratification for 3 months.
Propagation of barberry Maria by green cuttings is the most common method. To do this, young shoots of the current year are cut off from a 3-5 year old plant, starting in June. The segments should have 2-3 internodes. Planted in a greenhouse or directly on the site, observing the temperature and humidity conditions.
To divide the bush, they also choose a young plant - it tolerates this method of propagation more easily. They dig up the barberry, divide the roots into 3 parts with pruning shears, and plant them in a new place.
Diseases and pests
Thunberg Maria barberry is considered resistant to various fungal diseases and pests. But in order not to have to get rid of the plant, it is recommended to carry out preventive spraying of the bushes with fungicides in the spring. This helps to avoid such diseases:
- powdery mildew;
- rust;
- infectious dryness.
Barberry aphids can quietly destroy a plant. You need to notice the appearance of this insect in time and spray the bush with insecticides. In general, Maria barberry does not cause unnecessary trouble due to fungal diseases and is rarely attacked by insects.
Conclusion
Barberry Maria is another bright element in landscape design that no designer or just an amateur gardener will miss to decorate their plot with it. This variety was bred to be particularly resistant to cold winters and cool summers. A little care and attention to this plant will return pleasure from the beauty that it can give.
