The name of this shrub became very famous due to candies of the same name, which have a pleasant sweet and sour taste. But in fact, the people of India have long been using it for medicinal purposes: for cleansing the blood, for pneumonia and fever. Now it began to be used as a decorative element for decorating the garden plot.
Most common barberry is grown , planting and caring for which is the basis for all other species of this plant.
Planting barberry
Depending on the purpose for which you want to plant this shrub, and you should choose the place of planting:
- in the shade - to get the roots;
- in the sun - to maintain the brightness of foliage and the cultivation of berries.
It is well planted along or in place of a hedge , but it is also possible to do it one by one. At the same time, the landing process changes slightly. A single tree should be located no closer than 1.5 m from neighboring plants. To do this you need:
- We pull out a square pit with a side of 40 cm and the same depth.
- We put a seedling in it and fall asleep with a pre-mixed land mixture: from humus, garden soil, sand or peat. The root neck should be at ground level.
- Plentifully watering a new planting (7-10 liters should be poured on each plant).
- We mulch the near-well space with a layer of 5 cm peat or wood chips.
By the same principle, barberries are planted as a hedge, only it is necessary to excavate the trench and plant the seedlings in one or two rows at a distance of 25 cm, in the second case placing them in a checkerboard pattern.
For planting it is possible to use container or barren seedlings with barbarian roots, it is better to plant the latter in the spring, until the appearance of the kidneys, while the first ones perfectly permeate at any time of the year. To land successfully, first the container with roots and earth should be soaked for several hours in water, and then only planted.
Caring for barberry
- Watering . Barbaris needs to water once a week for 5-7 liters under the bush. In the droughty period, it should be increased, but it should not be allowed to excessively moisten the soil and stagnate under the bush of water.
- Weed removal . The soil under the plant must be regularly loosened and harvested grass. Do so should not be deeper than 3 cm.
- Top dressing . In the second year under the barberry, it is necessary to make nitrogen fertilizers, and then - only every 3 years, using organic or complex fertilizers such as Kemira-wagon for this purpose.
- Pruning . Starting from the second year, barberry must be regularly cut, removing dry and weak twigs. This is required to organize the necessary illumination of the entire shrub. It is recommended to perform this procedure in the early spring, when the sap flow has not yet begun and the kidneys have not appeared. If bushes are planted to create a hedge, then in the second year after planting, it will be necessary to cut 2/3 of the branches. And in the future, pruning and prishchipku twice a year: in early June and in August.
- Wintering . The first 2-3 years, it is recommended to cover the bush for this period with spruce, tartar, peat or dry leaves. This will help prolong their life and improve decorativeness.
- Fight against pests and diseases . Growing barberry, you should carefully examine the condition of leaves and twigs, since it can be infected with barberry aphids, powdery mildew, flower moth, rust. In the fight against which spraying of shrubs with the necessary preparation is used: chlorophos, Bordeaux fluid, colloidal sulfur solution or other.
Reproduction of barberry
The number of barberry bushes can be increased in several ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- division of the bush.
The easiest way to reproduce and further planting of barberry is to cuttings. To do this, cut from the semi-extruded branches 10 cm cuttings, which then take root in a standard way (in a small greenhouse). As a result, the resulting seedling is planted in the open ground in the spring. Observing these features of growing and caring for barberry, your bush will always look good and please its berries.