PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Berberis (thunbergii Atropurpurea)
Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea
🌸 Flower
🔁 Perennial
A spiny, deciduous shrub with deep-purple leaves, yellow spring flowers and red autumn berries. Makes a tough, intruder-proof hedge.
When to plant and care for it
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowers
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Berberis (thunbergii Atropurpurea): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well for the first summer, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Any soil
- Spacing
- 60 cm (45 cm for a hedge)
- Height
- 1.5 m
- In pots
- Only in large containers
- Feeding
- Little feeding needed
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–8
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 60 cm (45 cm for a hedge) apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- AprilIn Flower
Small yellow flowers.
- JulyTrim
Trim hedges after flowering; wear thick gloves.
- OctoberAutumn Colour and Berries
Fiery leaves and red berries for birds.
