Barberry benefits and side effects

Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever. Gemma Johnstone is a gardening expert who has written 120-plus articles for The Spruce covering how to care for a large variety of plants from all over the world. Barberry benefits and side effects’s traveled all over Europe, living now in Italy. Barberry is normally planted as potted nursery specimens in spring or fall.

Golden barberry has a moderate growth rate, adding about 1 foot per year. Some sources consider all species in the Berberis genus to have mild toxicity, capable of causing minor digestive upset and skin irritation. This, along with the thorns, may be why barberry shrubs are rarely eaten by deer. Barberry bushes are known for being robust and versatile shrubs, and ‘Aurea’ is no exception. Providing this bush gets plenty of sunlight, it will thrive in most conditions, although it won’t tolerate waterlogged soil. Doing best in full sun, this shrub also manages well in partial shade.

The leaves take on their brightest coloring, however, if they get at least six hours of direct sun a day. In a shadier position, the foliage may be a greener shade, rather than the vibrant yellow associated with this bush. The golden barberry isn’t fussy when it comes to soil type. It does well in dry and moist soils. The only issue it will have is growing in soils that regularly become waterlogged.

This shrub is reasonably drought-tolerant and only requires a middling amount of moisture to thrive. Be careful not to water unnecessarily, as this can impact the shrub’s color and vigor. Hardy in USDA zones 4 to 7, this shrub will do well in both blazing summers and frigid winters. Dry and humid atmospheric conditions are equally tolerated by golden barberry, though high humidity paired with poor air circulation is a recipe for mild fungal diseases such as leaf spot. The hardy golden barberry doesn’t need regular applications of fertilizer to ensure good growth. The only time you might want to use some would be in early spring, prior to the new growth starting.