Under natural conditions, barberry Natasha grows in the Far East. Gradually, culture spread and spread to Europe and North America. Today, the plant is considered very popular. Gardeners appreciate it for its excellent decorative properties and unpretentiousness in care.
Description of barberry Natasha
This culture is a deciduous bush, which can reach 2.5 m in height. When grown under special conditions, the plant usually does not exceed 1 m.
Barberry of this variety looks very impressive
Description of barberry Natasha includes such characteristics:
- The plant has an arcuate ribbed shoots. They are characterized by a saturated red or orange color. Gradually, the branches become brown or brown.
- Barberry is characterized by reddish ovoid kidneys 5 cm long.
- Leaves have a rounded or oval shape. They are located on the petioles and reach 2-3 cm. The top of the foliage is distinguished by a rich green hue, and the bottom has a gray color. In the fall, it turns red or yellow.
- The branches of the plant are covered with thin spikes. Inflorescences can be solitary or form brushes. They appear in the first half of May.
- In September or October, elongated berries adorn the bushes. They are characterized by a coral red hue.
Note!The plant is resistant to dry weather and frost. The culture is able to withstand a temperature drop of -35 degrees.
Planting a plant
The plant is recommended to be planted in the open ground in the autumn season. This must be done before the cold weather. Thanks to this, the culture will have time to adapt to a new place. In the spring, its active development will begin.
In spring, barberries can also be planted. However, this procedure should be performed before the buds open. If you plan to plant several bushes nearby, the gap between them should be at least 2 m.
The choice of location has a direct effect on leaf color. In the sun, they acquire a red-yellow hue, and in the shade they turn green.
Seed planting
When barberry is propagated by seed method, planting material must be sown in autumn in open ground. To do this, it is laid out in small furrows 1-3 cm deep, filled with sand. Top seeds can be covered with a heater that lets air through.
Planting material is characterized by low germination. It is not more than 30%. It is important that the seeds are fresh. They can be collected independently from the ripened fruits of the plant.
For reference! When sprouts appear, they need to provide complete and high-quality care. Only after 2-3 years a full bush will form from them.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Planting seedlings in open soil is necessary in the spring. Over the summer, young plants will be able to gain strength and survive the frost.
Barberry can be grown in seedlings
You need to plant bushes at a short distance and provide them with quality care. It includes weeding, cultivation, watering. The soil must have good drainage.
How to care for barberry Natasha
In order for Natasha’s barberry to develop normally, he needs to provide full care.
- Watering
With periodic precipitation, moistening the soil is additionally not required. In dry weather, barberry must be watered. To do this, pour warm water under the root. It is important to avoid getting liquid on the leaves.
Regular watering is required for young bushes. This will facilitate the process of rooting them. Excessive soil moisture harms the culture and can even lead to its death.
Important!To preserve moisture in the soil structure, it is necessary to cover it with a mulching layer. To do this, use peat or sawdust.
- Top dressing
Every year it is worth adding fertilizer to the soil. For barberry of this variety, it is useful to use nitrogen preparations. If you want to get a large number of fruits, it is worth using means based on phosphorus and potassium.
Universal fertilizers will be an excellent option. These include, for example, the drug Kemira-Universal. It is used in early July.
- Pruning
Trimming a plant is required quite rarely. Usually, it is necessary to shorten the branches in violation of their growth. Also, the procedure is carried out with a strong deviation of the shoots from the crown. In this case, it is imperative to get rid of dry and damaged branches.
Pruning helps get rid of dry and damaged branches
Pruning is carried out before the movement of juices.
Breeding methods
There are several methods for propagating barberry in this variety. Sometimes it is bred with seeds. To get planting material, you need to take ripe fruits, separate the seeds from the pulp and put in a solution of potassium permanganate. After that they need to be dried.
In autumn, seeds should be placed in the soil to a depth of 1 cm and sprinkled with soil a little. In the spring, after the formation of 2-3 leaves, planting, it is necessary to thin out and grow bushes for another 2 years. Then they can be planted.
Also, barberry can be propagated by cuttings. Planting material must be cut in mid-July. In this case, remove the lower leaves and place the cuttings in a growth stimulator (for this purpose, Epin or Kornevin is perfect). After the procedure is completed, the cuttings must be washed and planted in a special substrate. To do this, mix peat, humus and fertile soil.
It is recommended to cover planted cuttings with a plastic dome. It must be removed periodically to ventilate the plants. After the roots appear, the restrictions must be removed.
Attention! Bushes should be grown on a greenhouse for 2 years. Then they are moved to a permanent place.
Also, the culture can be propagated by layering. In the spring you need to choose a strong annual escape. It must be bent to the ground and fixed. From above, the plant should be sprinkled with earth, leaving only the upper part.
By the fall, a complete root system will appear. At this stage, the seedling can be separated from the mother bush and moved to a permanent site.
You can get seedlings from low bushes 3-5 years. For this, the plant needs to be dug up in early spring and divided into identical fragments. The procedure should be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the bushes.
Important!After completion of the work, the sections must be treated with crushed coal and distributed over the plots. Shoots that branch above the surface of the earth cannot be divided.
Diseases and Pests
Of the insects, barberry is most often susceptible to attack by aphids and moths. A concentrated soap solution will help cope with aphids. In advanced cases, Aktaru or Actellik are used. If a moth is found on the bushes, it is worth using Decis or Chlorophos.
With the development of diseases, the leaves of the bush become covered with plaque
Barberry can also suffer from the following violations:
- Powdery mildew - in this case, the leaves are covered with white coating. They need to be treated with a sulfur-lime solution. In advanced situations, the affected shoots must be completely removed.
- Spotting - accompanied by the appearance of spots on the leaves. This leads to their drying. Copper oxychloride will help cope with the disease. They need to sprinkle the bushes.
- Fungal infections - they cause the appearance of rotting sites on plants. Affected fragments should be treated with fungicides.
- Rust - provokes drying and falling of leaves. To cope with the pathology, the bushes need to be treated with Bordeaux fluid. In difficult situations, the plant will have to be burned.
Flowering period
Barberry begins to bloom in May. Inflorescences are not present for long - only 2-3 weeks. The flowers have a light caramel color.
To a greater extent, the culture is valued for its bright and beautiful leaves, so flowering rarely attracts attention.
Winter preparations
At this stage, you need to remove weed grass and cover the soil with a mulching layer. To preserve the roots, you should leave the fallen foliage under the bush, and in winter - sprinkle it with snow. The ground part is best knitted and wrapped in fabric. The bush can winter vertically or on the ground.
Use in landscape design
The plant has excellent decorative properties. Because it is actively used in landscape design. The culture is great for group plantings. Also from the bushes you can form a hedge in the garden.
Decorative properties of the culture allow its use in landscape design
Important! Bushes are often used to decorate the space around benches. The plant goes well with other shrubs.
Beneficial features
Barberry of this variety has no beneficial properties. It is most often grown for decorative purposes. The fruits have an unpleasant taste. Therefore, they should not be added to tea or compote. It is much better to leave the berries on the bushes and enjoy them. To use the plant for treatment, it is worth planting other varieties.
Barberry is a wonderful ornamental plant, which serves as a real decoration of the garden. Variety Natasha has many advantages and is unpretentious in care. To achieve good results in the design of the cottage, you need to learn how to combine culture with other plants.
