I was wondering around a nursery early in the sping of 2021 checking out the Barberries and I found a new one that I had not seen before. In fact it was hard to miss this new Barberry has it had flaming red foliage, yes flaming red foliage that was just screaming at you take on home for your yard. Well they were all in a 2 gallon pot and I thought I doubt any of them had a large trunk. I was dead wrong, at least one of them did! I immediately put it on the cart dispite the large price tag on it. It had a nice barky trunk, (is barky a word?), it is now. Nebari on the roots and plenty of branches. Plus its on the small size which is good for as it won’t be heavy to lug around. I brought it home and cleaned it up for the summer and left it alone after that. I did take it a local workshop to show beginners what to look for when nursery shopping. It was very popular just for its color alone.
In researching this new find I did discover that its compact form of a Crimson Pygmy Japnese Barberry. None of the Crimson Pygmy trees I have and I have a lot of them, are anywhere close to being this red. The tree is turning into its fall colors and the orange you see in the following photos is not normally there during the summer. I think it makes the tree even better in the fall.
I did notice taking the photos that it could use some wire on it move some of the branches outword making the apex much better. I will do this in the winter after the leaves turn brown and are easy to knock off with a chop stick so your fingers do not get pricked. Yes, you can wire a Barberry, you just have to be very carefull and not mind getting stuck from time to time, but it can be done.
This is a nice Barberry and I will be most defenately looking for another one!
Gallery 10-22-2021:
