European barberry

The common barberry is fully hardy and needs no protection in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Simply leave it standing: it sheds its leaves, goes dormant and reliably sprouts again in spring. Only young plants in their first winter can be loosely covered with brushwood in very windy positions; in normal positions that is not necessary.

The barberry is most reliably propagated from semi-ripe cuttings: in summer (July to August), take side shoots 10 to 15 cm long, remove all the leaves except one or two pairs at the shoot tip and insert them into well-drained, lean seed compost. Keep the soil evenly, lightly moist, put the pots in a partly shaded, warm spot and ventilate regularly so that no mould develops. The cuttings overwinter indoors under shelter and go into the open ground the following spring. For sowing, take the seeds from fully ripe berries in autumn. They need a cold period to germinate: sow them directly in autumn in small pots and leave these unheated over winter, or stratify the seeds in the refrigerator for a few weeks before sowing them in spring. Germination can take several months. Note that plants raised from seed can easily differ from the parent type because of cross-pollination. Layering works well if a flexible shoot close to the ground is available: wound it lightly on the underside 20 to 40 cm from the shoot tip (best at a leaf node), bend it into the soil, cover the wounded spot with soil and fix it with a peg. After 8 to 12 months the layer has usually formed its own roots and can be separated from the parent shrub. For deciduous woody plants such as the common barberry, you make the layer in autumn.