Berberis thunbergii Green Carpet - Barberry

Berberis thunbergii Green Carpet spreads as an elegant ground cover of tender green in spring, turning bright green in summer before taking on its sumptuous autumn colours of red-orange, visible from afar in the garden. It has a yellow spring flowering that gives way to decorative bright red fruits in late summer. Planted in groups of 3, it covers the ground in the foreground of a mass of shrubs with darker foliage. It also works very well in container cultivation to adorn the terrace or balcony, and requires no pruning!

Berberis thunbergii, also known as Japanese Barberry, is a shrub in the Berberidaceae family native to Japan. It is characterized by a bushy, spreading, and low habit, and deciduous foliage, or semi-evergreen in mild climates. The Green Carpet cultivar stands out with a particularly wide and low habit, beautifully layered and remarkably dense.

This deciduous shrub reaches a height of 50cm (19.7in) and a spread of 90cm (35.4in) at maturity. The almost horizontal branches are layered one on top of the other and bear mildly aggressive thorns. The insignificant flowering is in April-May, in the form of clusters of 1 to 6 small, bell-shaped flowers which are 1cm (0.4 in) long, pale yellow tinged with red appearing on the previous year's shoots. They are nectar-rich flowers, appreciated by pollinating insects, followed in September-October by small, very bright red spherical fruits which measure from 6 to 8mm (0.2 - 0.3in) long and persist through part of the winter. The foliage of this Barberry is composed of yellow emerging leaves, becoming slightly greener in summer before turning orange in autumn, which are 1 to 3 cm (0.4 - 1.2 in) long and obovate (ovate, with the upper part of the leaf wider than the lower part).

Green Carpet Barberry is very dense and low and forms a good ground cover from spring to autumn, but its deciduous foliage is best associated with evergreen shrubs such as boxwood or Lonicera nitida. Perfectly cold-resistant, it also tolerates limestone soils quite well. Combine it with the purple foliage of Physocarpus, variegated or bronze and yellow grasses like carex for a contrast of forms and colours. Its deterrent thorns also allow it to be used at the front of a defensive hedge, associated with European gorse (Ulex parviflorus), Japanese quinces, holly, and rugosa roses. This small Barberry also fits well in rockeries, on slopes, in a colourful checkerboard with Nadina Fire Power, shrubby artemisias, Juniperus x media 'Old gold' in small touches.