Colorful, thorny, and incredibly easy to grow, Barberries are hardy deciduous shrubs with thorny stems, tiny teardrop-shaped leaves, and small to mid-range-sized growing forms.
Barberry bushes are spiny, fine-textured shrubs, also known as the Pepperidge bush, and are available in an amazing array of colors and a range of color combinations!
Well known for their deer resistance, cold and heat tolerance, and virtually problem-free growth, Barberries are so easy to grow that they do a bit too well in some areas of the country.
Learn more about these unique low-maintenance shrubs that are favorites of gardeners, pollinators, and songbirds!
All About Barberry Bushes
Found throughout Asia and North America, ornamental Barberry was introduced here in the US from Japan in the 1800s, and it still is a popular landscape plant. Of the 500 species of Berberis, only the Allegheny Barberry is native to the states.
Although related, Mexican Barberry (Berberis haematocarpa) is a separate species native to the Southwestern United States. It features spiny leaves and edible fruit that were dried by Apache tribes for food. Unfortunately, the showy fall fruit of the Japanese Barberry is only good for the birds.
Barberry produces tiny yellow flowers in the spring, resembling little fairy bells. Pollinators adore the pollen and nectar-rich blooms even if you do not really notice the tiny blossoms. These flowers transform into orange to red fruits mature in the fall and persist through the winter.
Many varieties and cultivars of Barberry have fantastically colorful new growth, colorfast summer foliage, and then dramatic fall hues!
Of course, Barberry bushes are also well-known for their thorny, wiry branches. With sharp spines lining the stems, Barberry is not only deer-resistant but serves as a fantastic barrier plant that few want to tangle with! Sure to make intruders think twice about your home.
Some new varieties are relatively thorn-free and others are sterile or have reduced self-seeding. Plant scientists are busy breeding new cultivars to maximize the gorgeous features of Barberry shrubs and reduce their few issues.
Landscape Assets - In Most States
As mentioned, Barberry berries are eaten by small mammals and loved by birds. In some areas, the fruit is dispersed by birds and readily grows where they land. In many states, Japanese Barberry bush actually performs too well, so not every state permits them.
That's one of the main reasons why you should buy your landscape plants from Nature Hills Nursery because we are the very first online nursery to use Plant Sentry™ and a full-time compliance officer that keeps those restrictions for all states current and up to date at all times.
This is a sophisticated system that blocks the sale of regulated plant materials. In most places across the country, you'll love having these vibrant shrubs in your landscape!
Maximize Your Landscape Design with the Versatile Barberry Bush
With fine-textured little leaves and incredible color, barberries grow densely and uniformly on their own. Also able to be sheared, Barberry bushes can be as formal or informal as you need!
- Great for mass planting because of their low-maintenance and easy-to-grow nature
- Beautiful backdrops and borders
- Low-growing varieties are brilliant edging and facer plants
- Bushy dense shrubs for property division and privacy
- Thorny defensive bushes to control foot traffic, hold back deer and boost security
- Barberry is also commonly used in hedges and columnar forms that save space
- Colorful specimens and accents
- Small-growing varieties look fantastic in containers and planters
- Use columnar Barberry as a sculptural accent
Bright & Colorful Barberry Shrubs At NatureHills.com
From chartreuse to near-black, the range of Barberry bush colors will amaze you! Plus the sheer range of sizes and forms will ensure that any size or style of landscape can enjoy one of these showy foliage shrubs!
Space Saving Columnar Barberry
- Formal ruby-red and purple foliage of the Helmond Pillar Barberry looks like a living exclamation point.
- As you might guess, the Golden Rocket and Orange Rocket Barberry feature narrow, upright growth habits. But the sunny color brings a very different feel.
- The upright Golden Torch brings a rounded vertical lime color with a small footprint
- Proven Winners® Sunjoy® Gold Pillar Barberry is an outstandingly bright yellow columnar form!
Narrow-growing and space-saving, columnar Japanese Barberry adds height without taking up garden space. Great in containers as showy specimens, these are incredibly eye-catching pops of vertical color.
Large Scale Landscaping Shrubs
For the biggest impact, the best privacy, and the most natural security measures, these are the largest Barberry bushes available at Nature Hills.
- Warty Barberry Bush can be semi-evergreen and grows 3-6 feet tall & 3-4 feet wide
- Proven Winners® Sunjoy® Cinnamon Barberry is a showy spicy-hued shrub 4-5 feet tall
- Rose Glow Barberry - Showy red & yellow variegated shrub grows 4-5 feet tall & 3-4 feet
- Golden Barberry - a 3-4 foot tall and a bit wider golden green variety
- Proven Winners® Sunjoy® Tangelo Barberry is a dramatic orange-yellow variegated shrub with purple fall color growing 3-4 feet tall and wide.
Go big with barrier plantings, privacy, and property division with these big, beautiful showy shrubs that few will want to trespass through. Great as foundation plantings that won’t block your windows, but make anyone think twice when trying to peep in first-story windows.
Dwarf and Mini Barberry
- Proven Winners® Sunjoy® Citrus Barberry features lemon-yellow foliage, is tough as nails and brings a welcome pop of color to your garden just 2-3 feet tall.
- Sunjoy®Gold Beret Barberry makes a perfectly round cap of color 6-12 inches tall and wide.
- Admiration Barberry is a vibrant cranberry red shrub 12-18 inches tall and 18-24 inches wide
- Golden Ruby® Barberry is a cute maroon & green shrub just 15 inches tall and 2 feet wide. You’ll love the fluorescent orange new growth!
- Proven Winners® Sunjoy Todo® Barberry barely grows 2 feet tall and wide with nearly black/dark purple foliage.
- First Editions® Cabernet® Barberry is a small rich burgundy-purple shrub just 2-3 feet tall and wide.
Darling little container shrubs, low front-of-the-garden edging, and border shrubs. Use these mini-Barberries as lovely fillers in hardy containers or in the ground as facer shrubs to hide larger plants' bare leggy stems.
Groundcover Barberry
- The Bonanza Gold Barberry bush hugs the ground and spreads with arching branches. With golden foliage that only grows 18 inches tall and 3 feet wide!
- Royal Burgundy® Barberry grows 1-2 feet tall but spreads up to 4 feet wide and full of purple-red leaves
- Crimson Pygmy Dwarf Japanese Barberry is a shiny red dwarf Barberry spreading 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall.
Planting and Care Guide for Barberry Shrubs
Thriving in sun and partial shade, Japanese Barberries (Berberis thunbergii) are hardy shrubs! Drought-tolerant, deer-resistant shrubs that will perform faithfully for years and years.
Barberry tolerates a wide variety of growing conditions, including tolerating pollution, shade, and drought.
Plant yours in about any kind of well-drained soil with moderate moisture access until established. Afterward, these durable deciduous shrubs only need supplemental moisture during extended drought. Water container plants well so they do not dry out.
Barberry can be hard pruned periodically, but we advise giving them plenty of room to reach their full size. Prune immediately after the shrubs flowering or in late winter for best results. You'll be pleased with how graceful a mature Barberry plant becomes!
As with working with Roses, you'll want to wear gloves while handling any type of Barberry bush. Luckily, there isn't much you will need to do for these rugged landscape workhorses!
Some plants behave wonderfully in many areas of the country. However, Barberry can do a little too well in other areas. We're the first company to use Plant Sentry™ which seamlessly helps us block shipments of regulated plant material into sensitive ecosystems.
Buy Barberry Bushes Today!
Don't delay placing your order. We regularly have people buy out our entire inventory for commercial projects.
Check out our delightful selection of Barberry Bushes for sale. Buy your high-quality Barberry shrubs from the expert growers at Nature Hills Nursery today and rest assured that your ecosystem is safe!
Nature Hills Nursery is committed to bringing the highest-quality trees, bushes, and plants directly to your door.
Happy Planting!
