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Barberry Green Carpet is a small, fluffy shrub often used for landscaping. This plant is distinguished by its endurance and unpretentiousness, while having a bright attractive appearance.
Description of barberry Green Carpet
Barberry Thunberg Green Carpet belongs to deciduous shrubs. It is distinguished by its compact size and low spreading crown. The diameter of an adult plant usually does not exceed 100 cm. The crown shape is wide and slightly flattened (it is often compared to a pillow). The color of the bark is yellowish brown.
Barberry Green Carpet begins to bloom in late spring. Inflorescences are several single flowers collected together. The flowers are red on the outside and deep yellow on the inside. The fruits have an elongated shape and a pink or red tint. The fruit ripening period of barberry Green Carpet is the beginning of autumn. After the leaves from the bush fly around, the berries remain on the branches for a long time, decorating the garden in the winter months.
Also, to the description of the barberry Thunberg Green Carpet, it should be added that this is a perennial plant, a shrub can grow on the site for 45-50 years.
Planting and care
Barberry is a rather unpretentious shrub – for most varieties, habitat conditions are completely unimportant. The plant adapts well to environmental conditions and is able to grow and develop anywhere. If it is possible to choose a landing site for the Green Carpet barberry, preference should be given to areas open to sunlight, but protected from sudden gusts of wind.
Seedling and planting preparation
Novice amateur gardeners are usually recommended to buy ready-made seedlings of Green Carpet barberry. If we are talking about a plant with open roots, it is recommended to lower the roots of the seedlings in liquid fertilizer for a couple of hours before planting. If the seedling grows in a pot, then 15-20 minutes before planting, it is abundantly watered with water so as not to damage the roots during extraction.
As for the ground, neutral soil is well suited for Green Carpet barberry. But at the same time, he can adapt well to an alkaline or acidic environment. To improve the quality of acidic soil, it is recommended to pre-fertilize it with lime or wood ash.
Holes for barberry Green Carpet are best prepared in advance – 5-10 days before planting.
Rules of landing
Experienced gardeners advise you to follow simple rules when planting the Green Carpet barberry variety, which will help the plant quickly adapt to a new place:
- individual seedlings should be located at a distance of 2 m from each other, and when creating a solid hedge – 50 cm;
- barberries no more than 3 years old are planted in holes 25 by 25 cm in size, older specimens – in holes 40 by 40 cm in size;
- landing is carried out in April in order to be in time before bud break;
- if the soil at the landing site has a heavy dense structure, it is worth preparing a special soil mixture in advance – superphosphate or sand with soil and humus;
- before planting barberry in the holes, it is necessary to prepare drainage from sand or broken bricks;
- barberry seedlings of the Green Carpet variety are placed in the holes, carefully straightening the roots, and sprinkled on top with soil or ready-made soil mixture, and then watered (a bucket of water per plant).
Watering and top dressing
As for care, the Green Carpet barberry variety is quite unpretentious and undemanding in this regard. The plant does not require abundant watering and does not tolerate waterlogging.
In the first year after planting a Green Carpet barberry bush, you can do without additional fertilizers – the nutrition from the soil mixture should be enough for this period. In the future, for fruiting, it is necessary to feed Green Carpet with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers after flowering is completed and re-apply them at the end of the season.
Trimming
An important step in caring for Green Carpet barberry bushes is their timely pruning. The first year the plant is allowed to adapt, and, starting from the next, it is pruned twice. The first is done at the beginning of summer, and the second at the end. The branches of the plant are cut by about 50%. You should also not forget about sanitary measures – timely remove dried or too thin shoots.
Pruning barberry Green Carpet is carried out with a pruner or a garden hacksaw. Do not forget about protective gloves, as thorns can be hidden under the foliage of the barberry. First, excess shoots are removed from the ground, and then the crown is formed.
Preparation for winter
The most important thing for barberry Green Carpet in winter is to protect the roots from frost. To protect the plant, hilling is carried out in autumn to a height of 10-12 cm.
In general, the Green Carpet variety tolerates winter well. If a lot of snow is forecast, the bushes can be left uncovered. If there is a high probability of a cold snowless winter, then you should take care and cover the barberry with spruce branches.
Reproduction
There are several ways to propagate barberry Green Carpet. All of them are quite simple and convenient. To choose the right one, you should read them in more detail:
- With the help of seeds. Ripe berries are harvested, seeds are taken out of them, disinfected in a low concentration of potassium permanganate and dried. The prepared seeds are planted to a depth of 10 mm on a temporary bed, and in April the sprouts dive, leaving a distance of 3-4 cm between them. When the seedlings reach 2 years, they are transplanted to a permanent place. It is also possible to plant seeds in spring, in which case they must be kept in wet sand or coconut substrate for 2-3 months at a temperature of + 2-5 °C.
- With the help of cuttings. Preparation for breeding begins in early summer. The foliage is removed from the cuttings, leaving only a little at the very top. After that, the cuttings are placed in a container with a root solution for several hours to stimulate the development of the root system. The prepared material is planted on a temporary bed. During the first weeks, it is very important to ensure that the soil is sufficiently moist. After 2 years, young bushes can be transplanted to a permanent place.
- With the help of offsets. At the beginning of spring, the strongest shoot is selected and placed in a specially prepared groove no more than 10 cm deep, fixing it in this position. In this case, the end of the escape must be above ground level. The place where the roots will form can be scratched a little to speed up the process. In autumn, the resulting seedling is transplanted to the planned place.
- By dividing the bush. This method is well suited for undersized varieties such as Green Carpet. Bushes aged 3-6 years are suitable for reproduction. In April, the bushes are completely removed from the ground and, trying not to damage the root system, they are carefully divided into parts with a garden hacksaw. Sections are recommended to be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or charcoal. Parts of the bush are seated in a new place.
Diseases and pests
This variety of barberry is famous for its fairly strong immunity and resistance to many diseases found in ornamental shrubs. However, there are also diseases and pests that can harm the plant.
An important measure for the prevention and care of the Green Carpet variety of barberry is the treatment against aphids and moths. Aphids settle on the lower part of the leaves of the plant and multiply very quickly. As a result, the leaves begin to dry and fall off, and the shoots are bent. Under such conditions, new buds on the plant may not appear next year. In stores, you can buy special spraying preparations that prevent the appearance of a pest.
The moth eats barberry berries. In the fight against it, Fufanon or Decis preparations are very effective.
Among diseases, powdery mildew, which is caused by a type of fungus, is of great danger. It appears as a whitish coating on shoots and leaves in early summer. If you do not pay attention to this sign, then the fungus will ripen during the season and, having overwintered, will spread even further by spring. As a result, this will lead to the death of the bush. The timely use of special fungicides, which can be purchased at garden stores, will help rid the plant of the disease.
Another nuisance that can happen to barberry is leaf spot. The fungus infects the leaves, on which dark spots begin to appear, over time, the shoots die. To avoid the disease, it is necessary to spray the bushes with copper chloride in the spring and after flowering.
Often there is a bacteriosis caused by pseudomanas. Otherwise, this disease is also called bacterial cancer. In the photo of the barberry Green Carpet, you can see that bacteriosis is manifested by cracks in the shoots.
If such signs appear, damaged branches should be removed immediately to prevent further spread of the disease. Spraying with solutions in this case will not give the desired effect.
Conclusion
Barberry Green Carpet is perfect for decorating a summer cottage or garden plot. Growing and caring for it will not be difficult even for novice gardeners.
