BOTANICAL: Berberis darwinii

PRONOUNCED: BEAR-ber-is dar-WIN-ee-eye

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COMMON: Barberry BLOOMS LIGHT ZONE Yellow Full sun to part shade 7 - 9 SIZE: 5 ft.- 10 ft. TYPE: Evergreen shrub PRUNING: Prune immediately after flowering to maintain the desired height. USE: As a specimen, cascading down embankments or in a large shrub bed. Is also useful as a screen as it suckers freely, forming thickets. SOIL: Prefers moist, well-drained soil, but is very urban tolerant and adaptable to poor soils COMMENTS: A fast-growing, popular Berberis. Small glossy green leaves on the upper surface, silvery underneath and looking like a miniature holly leaf. Vibrant orange-yellow flowers appear in the spring, covering the bush, often with a second if smaller showing in the autumn along with bluish-purple berries. Some of the older leaves fall in the fall when they turn a beautiful red color. Deciduous berberis need sun to bring out their fall colors, while evergreen berberis can be located in the shade. A selection of evergreen berberis: Berberis aquifolium, 'Oregon grape', 3 ft. - 5 ft. x greater spread. Lovely yellow flowers in late spring are followed by blue-black berries. The leaves resemble those of the holly. Hardy in Zone: 5 - 8. Berberis linearifolia, 10 ft. x 8 ft. The globose to cup-shaped flowers are yellow to deep orange. It has an untidy appearance. The green foliage turns deep shades of orange and red in the fall. Hardy in Zone: 6 - 9. Berberis trifoliolata (syn: Mahonia trifoliolata), 'Wild currant', 8 ft x 6 ft., is loose, upright and stiffly branched. The 3-lobed blue-gray leaves resemble holly leaves. The yellow flowers in spring are followed by red berries in summer. Zones 7 - 9.