Scientific Name: Berberis thunbergii
Common Name: Japanese barberry
Family Name: Berberidaceae
Origin: S.E. Asia / Japan / China
Hardiness Zone: Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Plant Type: Shrub - deciduous
Mature Size: 1.3 - 2.0m x 1.5 - 2.0m (height x width)
Habit: Dense, Spreading
Form: Round
Texture: Medium - fine
Landscape Uses: Accent plant, Group or mass planting, Hedge row, Security/barrier, Sheared hedge
Exposure: Full sun
Soil or Media: Rocky or gravelly or dry
Leaves: Simple, Alternate, Leathery, Pinnate venation, Glabrous, Obovate, Spatulate, Entire
Flowers: Corymb, Yellow, Red, May-Jun
Fruit: Berry (true), Red, Sep-Oct, (Persistent)
Key ID Features:
Deciduous barberry 1-2m tall; leaves alternate, simple, clustered, most blades obovate to spatulate, 1.4-3(-5)cm long x 0.7-2.4cm wide, margins entire; florets yellow, about 1cm wide; berries red, ellipsoid, about 6-8mm long x 3-4mm wide. Winter ID: single spiny stipule 5-11mm long at each node (usually unbranched); buds globular, about 8-10mm wide, in tight clusters; leaf scars small, crecent shaped; persistent red oval berries.