Quick facts and care essentials

Sunset  – September 13, 2004


• Evergreen or deciduous
• Climate zones vary
• Full sun or partial shade
• Regular to moderate watering



Wintergreen barberry (B. julianae). Zones 4-24, 28-32. Evergreen. A dense, very thorny green shrub to 6 to 8 feet tall and wide, wintergreen barberry is often grown as a barrier hedge. Berries are blue black. This species is hardy to 0 °F/-18 °C, but there’s some cold damage to leaves at low temperatures (unless they are protected by snow). A dwarf form, ‘Nana’, grows just 4 feet high and wide.

Japanese barberry (B. thunbergii). Zones 1-24, 28-41. Deciduous. Often grown for colorful fall foliage; used as either a specimen plant or a barrier hedge. The species grows 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. Its dark green leaves turn yellow, orange, and red in fall; autumn berries are red and beadlike. Popular cultivars include ‘Atropurpurea'(same size as the species) and ‘Atropurpurea Nana’ (‘Crimson Pygmy’), to 1 ½ feet tall and 2 ½ feet wide; both have red foliage that turns gold in fall.