SHRUBS > BERBERIS > OVERWINTERING

IN THIS GUIDE

BERBERIS GUIDES

red berries from a berberis shrub growing outside covered in a layer of snow

OverwinteringPropagationPruningVarieties

Berberis , also make out as barberry , is a group of evergreen plant and deciduous shrubs grown for ornamental design and attract wildlife .

Berberis are tough and hardy shrubs and will tolerate all but the harshest winter here in the UK .

someone using a pair of secateurs to prune the stem of a berberis shrub growing outdoors

Even though berberis tends to require little criminal maintenance , caring for genus Berberis over the wintertime period in the UK expect gardeners to accompany these simple steps :

This process is explained in more profoundness below .

1) Prune In Dormancy

Pruning of both deciduous and evergreen varieties of berberis can be performed from mid to late wintertime to control their sizing and shape .

However , when wield berberis , thick gloves and clothing are extremely recommended to protect against their spines .

Once deciduous genus Berberis have dropped their leaves and enter dormancy , they can be pruned with a sharp , fair brace of secateurs .

a small berberis shrub growing in a garden bed that has been covered in a mulch of wood chips

Minimal pruning is usually required and is circumscribe to the removal of misplaced stems , keep to size and cutting of older stems every 3 - 4 years to further unexampled maturation .

Evergreen salmagundi can be pruned in summer after flowering .

However , to save their berries for wildlife during the cold months , they can also be pruned in mid - winter .

If renovation pruning is ask , berberis shrubs can be write out back hard in former wintertime , before being given provender and mulch to encourage new maturation .

2) Avoid Waterlogged Soils

Berberis will farm well in most moist and well - drain soils , but will struggle if develop in very wet or waterlogged site , especially during the wintertime .

To ameliorate soil drainage , constituent subject can be added at the time of planting and per annum as a mulch .

3) Mulch Well

Along with not tolerating poorly drained soil , berberis do not care to be permit to completely dry out and require watering , even when established during live and ironic spells .

Applyinga thick level of mulchin late wintertime will not only help improve the grime ’s bodily structure and birth rate but will help oneself conserve moisture during the warmer month and even suppress weeds .

To prove effective , a bed of constitutive issue , leaf mouldor wood chippings5 - 7 curium boneheaded needs to be implement , leaving a small area exculpated around the stems of the industrial plant .