Proven Winners® Sunjoy® Gold Pillar Barberry

The Sunjoy Gold Pillar® Barberry (Berberis thunbergii 'Maria') by Proven Winners® ColorChoice® is a deciduous shrub with brilliant foliage. Growing in a wide columnar fashion, it would look great as a short hedge or border along a walkway! Particularly prized for its bright, yellow foliage that maintains its brilliance all summer long. The one-inch leaves emerge in scarlet raiment when spring arrives then quickly adopt their golden glory.

Light-yellow flowers appear in the spring, but you may not notice them. They will however be useful in drawing pollinators to your yard! Big fat bumblebees will be dangling from them all spring! When fall approaches Gold Pillar® briefly returns to its red origins again, but this time with a decidedly brighter, orange hue as well, which is quite spectacular to behold.

Barberry has a long history of medicinal uses dating back over 2,000 years. It's also sometimes used cosmetically and even in some crafts. These are low-maintenance and easy-to-care-for columnar shrubs for a wide range of growing zones! Hardy throughout USDA planting zones 4 to 8, these upright golden bushes will shine spring through fall!

Stronger growing than other variegated cultivars, Sunjoy® Barberry is certified wheat-rust resistant. Highly deer-resistant, the birds will adore the tiny berries that form in the fall. But this is part of the reason, that in some areas Barberry performs "too well".

While it is true that while some Barberry cultivars are invasive in some areas, they may not be invasive in all areas. Nature Hills has taken the initiative to develop our own compliance company called Plant Sentry™ so that you will not be able to even purchase a plant that your state has prohibited because of invasiveness, insects, or disease. Plants may be available on our website, but if your state prohibits that plant from being shipped to you, the sale will not go through. Find out if you can safely grow these delightfully colorful shrubs in your community. Type in your zip code in our Hardiness Zone Finder, located above the Plant Highlights to find out, or contact your local County Extension Office.

Planting and Application:

These narrower plants make perfect hedges and property definition without taking up any room! Staying small and narrow, they are great screening and low privacy that also adds phenomenal color! Those thorns make anyone, or anything, think twice before crossing your hedge. Narrow enough to add a pop of color among existing mixed-shrub borders and to really highlight your home's front foundation!

The size also makes this deciduous shrub perfect for unique planter additions! Add colorful vertical thrillers to stylish urns and porch pots to add dramatic elements throughout a garden bed, landscaped gravel bed or formally lining a narrow pathway. Pot up in large containers or plant in the ground to accent either side of your front steps, or mark the entrance into your backyard.

Living fences are less expensive than hardscaped, so add Gold Pillar® as a colorful hedge to jazz up the visual impact of mature evergreen hedges, mixed shrub borders, or windbreaks. Create a solid screen by planting them two feet apart on center. Measure from the center of one to the center of the next. You'll have an instant garden focal point!

Mix in the other Sunjoy® Barberries for a rainbow of color without worrying about upsetting the neighborhood with your new front yard property-defining hedge!

• Ornamental Shrub with Brilliant Foliage
• Outstanding Fall Color
• Tiny Blossoms for Pollinators
• Upright Space-Saving Columnar Habit
• Great Thorny Barrier Plant, Colorful Accents, Backdrops & Borders

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Gold Pillar® is very adaptable and tolerant of many conditions, so won't require a lot of care from you. Another useful feature of this particular cultivar is that it won't suffer leaf scorch like some other yellow Barberry will, making it a superior selection among Barberry choices. Any type of well-drained, slightly acidic soil with average moisture access is perfect for these shrubs!

Pruning after flowering, or shear into a more formal shape. But little pruning is required unless you wish to change its shape or overall size. Wear thick, leather gloves before working with Barberry! In early spring, use a fertilizer formula for acid-loving plants according to label directions. Add a thick 3-4 inch layer of arborist mulch, pine bark, or pine straw mulch over the root system, which will also help keep the soil slightly acidic and retain soil moisture.

• Full Sun - No Leaf Burn
• Moderate Moisture & Mulch
• Drought Tolerant
• Low Maintenance & Prune Early Spring
• Deer Resistant

No matter what the Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Sunjoy® Gold Pillar Barberry bush is used for, none will compare to its use as an uncommonly beautiful addition to your landscape. Order enough for your next landscaping project from NatureHills.com today!