Purple Barberry Hedge Plants

Berberis Atropurpurea: Bareroot Purple Berberis Hedging Plants

Berberis thunbergii Atropurpurea is the purple-red leaved variety of Japanese Barberry. With its vandal-proof, vicious spines and springy, arching stems, this medium-sized, deciduous shrub makes an excellent prickly hedge or specimen. It is an ornamental plant, decked out with small yellow, pink-tinged flowers in April and May that attract bees and mature into bright red, inedible berries in summer. The small leaves are purple for most of the year, turning deep red in a striking display of Autumn colour.  

It is quite shade tolerant and is good for hedges up to 1.5-2 metres high. For other plant sizes, see our full range of berberis or view our other hedging plants.

Delivery season: Berberis hedge plants are delivered bareroot during late autumn and winter, approximately November-March inclusive.
Choosing a size: For a hedge, we generally recommend that you use plants that are graded at 40/60cms. They are cheaper than larger plants, easier to handle, and they will establish well in poor conditions. All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots or pots aren't measured).

Features:

• Acidic, Alkaline/Chalky, Poor/Dry Soils.
• Hedging, Shrub, Wildlife Value.
• Coastal Areas, Exposed Windy Areas.
• Partial Shade.
• Deciduous Foliage.
• Good for Autumn Foliage Colour with Red Berries.
• Yellow/Gold Flowers.
• RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Max Height 1.5-2m.

Growing Berberis Atropurpurea

A thorny shrub that makes a great hedging plant, suitable for any well drained soil in full sun or partial shade. It is tolerant of coastal conditions and can be planted in exposed, windy spots. It is drought tolerant when established, but can be prone to mildew on dry soils.

It is relatively slow growing, and you should not clip the hedge in its first year. In the winter of the year after planting, the hedge should be lightly trimmed, repeating every winter after that until it is mature. When the hedge is fully grown, it can be clipped at any time of year. Specimen shrubs can be lightly trimmed in winter or even coppiced to encourage brighter stem and summer foliage colour.

Spacing a Berberis hedge:
Plant at 3 plants per metre, 33cm apart.

In Your Garden Design 

It creates an attractive backdrop and its dramatic foliage colour can be repeated through a border using other dark-leaved shrubs like Cotinus coggygria, Sambucus nigra Black Lace and Physocarpus opulifolius Diabolo. It combines well with the vibrant yellows of Rudbeckia and Achillea, and the purples of Salvia Amistad and Lavender.

Did You Know?

The Red Japanese Barberry or Thunberg's Barberry was introduced to Europe from Japan in the 1860s and these red-purple forms were cultivated in the early 20th century. The species is named after Carl Peter Thunberg, a Swedish naturalist, thought to have identified the shrub on a visit to Japan towards the end of the eighteenth century.