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Barberry Admiration is a variety of the Thunberg barberry species that can decorate any space. Translated from English, Admiration means admiration, delight. It is these emotions that a barberry variety with that name evokes. Despite the refined, aristocratic appearance, caring for the plant is quite simple. It is no less easy to propagate Admiration barberry yourself.
Description of barberry Admiration
Barberry Thunberg Admiration according to the description is very beautiful and decorative. It is a low-growing shrub, not exceeding 60 cm in height and 1 m in diameter. At a young age, the barberry crown has a spherical shape, subsequently the bush expands and resembles a round pillow in shape. The shoots of the variety are short, brown, with small needles.
The leaves are small, differ in their original shade – bright coral with a yellow border, from afar they seem just purple. Foliage color intensity varies with season and growing conditions. With the onset of autumn colds, the foliage acquires brighter colors. Barberry Admiration begins to bloom in May. The entire bush is covered with small flowers of a pale pink hue, which are collected in inflorescences of 3-5 pieces. In autumn, they are replaced by red berries that taste bitter. They are not unsuitable for food, but they give the bush a decorative effect.
Barberry Admiration in landscape design
Thanks to its attractive appearance throughout the season, the Thunberg Barberry Admiration is versatile in landscape design. It is equally well suited for growing in small gardens and on city streets and parks.
Other qualities contribute to this:
- compact size, small height of the barberry Admiration, suggesting placement in mixborders, rocky gardens, alpine slides;
- dense, almost impenetrable crown, allowing the organization of hedges, borders;
- the original coloring of Admiration barberry leaves, shading monochromatic plantings and allowing you to create monochrome flower beds.
Planting and caring for barberry Thunberg Admiration
It is possible to plant a plant without thinking about its preferences for soil and location, and then wait a long time (and as a result not wait) for the properties declared by the variety. Any gardener sooner or later comes to the understanding that for every plant, even the most unpretentious, it is important to fulfill the necessary set of growing conditions.
Barberry Thunberg Admiration will show all the beauty of the foliage if planted in an area open to the sun. Frost resistance allows you to grow a crop in the climatic conditions of the Central region and some northern regions. The variety is undemanding to the soil, but there are certain preferences.
Seedling and planting preparation
Seedlings of the Admiration variety with a closed root system are planted at any time, from spring to autumn. Plants grown in containers have a healthy, well-developed root system and therefore take root better.
Barbara Admiration seedlings with open roots should preferably be planted immediately after purchase. The purchase of such plants should occur before the start of sap flow (before bud break) or after it ends (after leaf fall).
Barberry Admiration prefers well-drained, light soils with a neutral acidity index. Tolerates some soil salinity. The Admiration variety develops better if the soil in which it is planted consists of sand, humus and sod in a ratio of 1:1:2.
It grows slowly in acidic soil and does not set fruit. Therefore, the soil with an acidic reaction must be prepared for planting seedlings by liming. This can be done using slaked lime at the rate of 350 g per plant or wood ash, 250 g per bush.
Rules for planting barberry Admiration
To grow a beautiful Thunberg Admiration barberry bush as in the photo, experienced gardeners have developed certain rules:
- Plant the crop in open sunny areas or partial shade. From a lack of light, the leaves lose their color, the shoots stretch unevenly, and the appearance loses its attractiveness.
- For single plantings, maintain a distance between seedlings of 1,5-2 m. Lay a free-growing green hedge at the rate of 2 seedlings per 1 m. When planting a dense single-row green hedge, place 4 bushes per 1 m, two-row – 5 bushes per 1 m.
- The size of the pit for planting should be larger than the size of the roots. It is more convenient to dig a trench for planting a hedge.
- In barberry seedlings of the Admiration variety with an open root system, spread the roots before planting.
- To improve air access to the roots, fill the bottom of the pit with drainage (sand, expanded clay, broken bricks).
- Place the plant in the hole and cover with fertile soil. It is better to plant with a slight depth to stimulate the formation of new roots and the emergence of new shoots.
- Water the Admiration barberry seedling, and compact the soil around the plant. For the rooting period, the seedling is watered 1 time in 10 days.
- To preserve moisture, the trunk circle is covered with mulch, which can be used as humus, foliage, compost or any organic matter.
- Shorten the shoots, leaving 3-5 buds to make it easier for the plant to take root.
Watering and top dressing
Watering barberry Admiration in the first years of life is necessary as the top layer of the earth dries out. Subsequently, the shrub needs moderate watering, which is produced under the root with warm water.
Watered in 2-3 doses, wetting the soil deep enough. This southern heat-loving plant does not tolerate excess moisture even in extreme heat. Barberry Admiration is more likely to survive in dry conditions than in soil with stagnant water.
In the first year of cultivation, barberry does not need to be fertilized; the land is sufficiently fertilized before planting. Next spring, it is important to feed the Admiration shrub with nitrogen fertilizers, for example, urea (20-30 g per 10 liters of water). Then fertilizers are applied 1 time in 4 years:
- in spring – nitrogen;
- autumn – phosphorus and potassium.
Loosening and mulching
Barberry Bush Admiration will develop well if the soil around the bush is regularly loosened, combined with weeding. Mulching will help reduce the amount of loosening. Vegetable mulch serves as an additional organic fertilizer for the plant.
Trimming
Barberry Admiration is a slow-growing plant, it adds 10-20 cm per season. However, pruning the bushes is a must in care. It improves the appearance of plants and helps prevent disease. The need for pruning occurs at least 2 times a year:
- spring – sanitary, when frozen, broken, thickening shoots are removed, as well as branches located close to the soil surface;
- in summer – shaping, giving the bush certain shapes.
Pruning barberry in a green hedge should be done in the 2nd year of growth, cutting off half of the green mass. In subsequent years, pruning is carried out 2 times a year, in early June and August.
Preparation for winter
Barberry Admiration belongs to frost-resistant crops and is able to survive frost down to -35 ° C, but it is better to cover young plantings for the winter with coniferous branches or leaf litter.
Reproduction of barberry Admiration
Barberry Thunberg Admiration can be propagated in several ways:
- sowing seeds,
- cuttings,
- drains,
- division of the bush.
Each method has its own advantages. More often, gardeners use the method of sowing seeds and cuttings.
For propagation by seeds, it is worth adhering to the following algorithm:
- In autumn, you need to collect ripe Admiration barberry berries, separate the grains from the pulp, process in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate and dry.
- Sow seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm, on a specially prepared bed with loose fertile soil. This must be done 2 weeks before the first frost.
- In the spring, thin out seedlings, giving preference to stronger specimens.
- Young plants can be transferred to the chosen place in the second year after sowing.
- You can also sow in the spring, but the seeds should be stratified for 3 months (keep in wet sand at a temperature of 0-4 ° C).
In the 2-3rd year of growth, young bushes will give the first berries.
Propagating barberry Admiration by cuttings is also easy, for this you need a greenhouse or greenhouse.
- Cuttings suitable for propagation are harvested in June. Favorable harvesting time is the morning hours before the onset of heat.
- Leaves from the cuttings should be removed all except those at the top, shortening them by half.
- The cuttings are soaked in a rooting solution.
- Plant cuttings in a greenhouse, in moist soil. The first 14 days it is necessary to maintain soil moisture, ventilate the greenhouse.
- As soon as new young leaves appear, the seedlings gradually begin to harden. The soil is kept loose.
- The grown plants are planted in a permanent place after 2 years.
An effective way to propagate barberry is to propagate by layering.
- Select annual young shoots.
- Under the selected layer, make a recess 10-15 cm deep, into which lay the shoot and secure with a hairpin.
- Sprinkle the recess with earth and moisten. The end of the shoot should be peeking out above the ground.
By the end of the season, a seedling with a ready-made root system is obtained in this way. The method is good because over the summer a lot of layering is obtained from one bush.
Admiration barberry bushes at the age of 3-5 years can be propagated by division.
- The bush must be dug out completely. This should be done in early spring, as soon as the ground can be dug.
- Mark the places for dividing the bush, counting on each part to get a sufficient number of large roots. If it is impossible to divide the bush manually, then a saw is used.
- Sections should be treated with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or sprinkled with charcoal.
- Plant parts of the bush immediately to permanent places.
Diseases and pests
Colonies of barberry aphids can completely destroy the plant. Leaves from the vital activity of aphids are deformed, dry out and fall off. The flower buds responsible for the next year’s harvest are not laid, the shoots are bent.
Control methods – spraying the barberry with a soapy solution (250 g of green soap per 10 liters of water) or tobacco dust infusion (0,5 kg of product per 10 liters of water with the addition of green soap).
Flower moth poses a threat to barberry fruits. Methods of dealing with it – treatment with chlorophos, fufanon or decis according to the instructions.
In addition to insect pests, fungal diseases pose a health hazard to barberry.
Powdery mildew is accompanied by a white coating on all above-ground parts of plants. Leaves and young shoots gradually dry out.
Control methods: spraying with sulfur-containing preparations, the first time before the swelling of the kidneys, then every 2-3 weeks. Sick shoots and leaves should be cut and burned.
Leaf spot appears on the leaves with spots of different sizes and colors. The leaves suddenly dry up and fall off. Infected shoots do not tolerate winter well. Bushes lose their decorative effect.
Control methods – double treatment of plants with copper-containing preparations, before and after flowering.
The withering of the barberry is manifested by the drying up of part of the branches of the shrub, the entire bush gradually dries up. On the cut of the shoots, darkened vessels are visible. To avoid further infection, affected branches should be cut and burned.
Conclusion
Barberry Admiration was bred only 50 years ago, but quickly gained popularity. It attracts gardeners with the beauty of the shrub throughout the season, the ease of propagation and cultivation under simple conditions.
