Berberis koreana - Korean barberry

Berberis koreana, also known as Korean barberry, is one of those versatile shrubs that is perfect for creating hedges in a garden that embraces nature. It is valued for its beautiful autumn colours, its yellow melliferous spring flowering, and its abundant red fruiting. In the garden, it is an accommodating plant, hardy and with excellent adaptability. Its tart fruits can be used to make jams or liqueurs if they manage to escape the appetites of birds.

Korean barberry is a shrub of the berberidaceae family that is mainly found in the northern part of the Korean peninsula. It is a cold-resistant botanical species, able to withstand temperatures as low as -15°C at least. The shrub has a bushy, dense, and branched habit. Its growth is quite rapid, reaching between 1.50 m and 2 m in height with a spread of 1 to 2 m. Its stump produces suckers. Its deciduous foliage may partially persist in mild climates. Its spring red-coloured young shoots are decorative, as are its young variegated leaves with dark red markings. They quickly turn green and then become red again in autumn. The thorns are grouped in clusters of 3 to 5 beneath the leaves. Between May and June, depending on the climate, numerous pendulous clusters of 10 to 20 small yellow flowers bloom on the branches. They are highly nectariferous and are followed by small oval, fleshy fruits that turn red when ripe around September.

Berberis koreana, much less known than Thunberg's barberry, deserves to be discovered and planted in our gardens. It fits perfectly in a medium-sized defensive hedge, without requiring much pruning: its moderate growth does not demand it. Mix it with other easy hedge shrubs: Darwin's barberry (evergreen), Photinia 'Little Red Robin', Mahonia aquifolium, Van Houtte spiraea, Chinese abelia...