Berberis thunbergii Silver Beauty

The Berberis thunbergii 'Silver Beauty' is a variety of barberry remarkable for its compact and upright habit, well suited for hedge formation, and superb colourful foliage. Speckled green with cream white, sometimes with a touch of pink, the vegetation offers an autumn fireworks display when it turns bright red mixed with yellow. Its discreet yellow spring flowering has the advantage of producing small decorative bright red fruits at the end of the season. This deciduous and thorny shrub is easy to grow in the sun, tolerates partial shade, and adapts to most slightly moist soils.

Berberis belongs to the Berberidaceae family, which includes 14 genera, including sacred bamboo or Nandina, Epimedium, and the rare Podophyllum, both with decorative and surprising leaves. The Berberis genus is diverse and includes 400 to 500 deciduous or evergreen shrubs with green or colourful foliage. Their spines are either undeveloped or formidable, sometimes even ornamental. Its yellow wood recognises Berberis's name from the Arabic word berberys, which refers to its fruit. The Berberis thunbergii, also known as Thunberg's barberry or Japanese barberry, is a shrub native to Japan, which was introduced to Europe as early as 1864. The botanical species has a compact and regular habit, reaching a height of 1.50 m. It is highly appreciated for its numerous varieties with colourful foliage.
'Silver Beauty' is a deciduous cultivar that is more compact than the species and does not exceed 1.10 to 1.20 m in height at maturity. It has a distinctly upright and narrow vegetation, reaching only 60 cm in width at maturity. Its growth is slow to moderate, and its dense foliage makes it a good plant for low hedges. The leaves are grouped in 2 or 3, and each layer has a relatively short and thin spine, although quite prickly. Relatively small, the leaves measure approximately 3 cm long and have a spatulate to obovate shape. Tender green when emerging, they darken slightly afterwards and are widely speckled with cream white. This attire contrasts very nicely with the slender branches, which are somewhat pinkish to red. Mainly two-tone, the leaves can also have shades of pink. When autumn arrives, the vegetation gradually turns bright red, passing through various shades of yellow and apricot, which is striking. This final blaze lasts about three weeks before the leaves fall to the ground, announcing the arrival of winter.
Due to its small size, this small shrub produces relatively discreet yellow flowers around May. Numerous clusters of one to six small bell-shaped flowers bloom on one-year-old stems. Very nectariferous, they develop into bright red fruits, measuring from 6 to 8 mm in length, in autumn, which persist on the branches for quite a long time in winter.

The 'Silver Beauty' Berberis will appeal to enthusiasts of variegated foliage, and its compact growth will also allow it to be grown in a container on a terrace. The garden will integrate well in a diverse low hedge and in a flower bed. You can create contrasts of colour, both in terms of leaves and flowers, as well as shapes, by choosing different shrub silhouettes or more ample foliage. The Mahonia 'Volcano' with its magnificent dark green evergreen foliage, cut like a fern, would be a perfect companion. In addition, its late flowering in orange-yellow spikes will energise your flower bed from August to October. In not-too-harsh climates, you can also create a magnificent scene by planting the Ceanothus 'Tuxedo', a California Lilac with dark purple evergreen foliage and beautiful sky blue inflorescences in late spring, in the background. In moist soil, plant a Viburnum davidii, a superb low shrub with glossy dark green evergreen foliage, which will reward you with a pleasant white flowering in June and pretty decorative blue fruits.