Berberis empetrifolia
Crowberry barberry
- Height × spread
- 0.45m × 0.8m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Cold to -15C (RHS H5)
- Flowers
- Spring
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This is a dwarf evergreen shrub of some character. It has bright green linear leaves that roll their margins in, making them look even narrower, rather like long needles, and with a spine at their tip. They are held on thorny branches, coloured light brown and developing an attractive rugged quality. It flowers in May producing small golden-yellow flowers that are either single or held in pairs, dotting the branches but not profusely borne. Black berry fruits follow. It originates in Argentina and Chile, including wild and windy Tierra del Fuego. An excellent character plant for a rock or gravel garden. This is a parent of the handsome Stenophylla hybrid barberrys.
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Fruit colour
- Black
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Dome
- Height
- 0.45m
- Spread
- 0.8m
- Height in 10 years
- 0.3m
- Spread in 10 years
- 0.5m
- Season of interest
- Spring, Autumn
- Flowers in
- Spring
- Evergreen
- Evergreen
- Garden style
- Small scale garden, Seaside garden, Gravel garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, tolerates part shade
- Soil type
- Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Cold to -15C (RHS H5)
- Borders & containers
- Borders and containers
- Use for
- Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant, Bee attraction, Bird attraction
- Maintenance
- Easycare – low/no maintenance
- Hazards
- Yes, leaves & stems are prickly/thorny
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed young plants with slow release fertiliser
Spread a slow release fertiliser around the base of the plant to the edge of the foliage spread, so that it can feed the roots. It is helpful for this to be applied for several years.
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost until the plant becomes well established.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water during dry periods
For plants in the ground, when there has been little or no rain for a period of 7-10 days and the soil is dry, give it a deep watering and repeat weekly until there is a downpour of rain. Check plants in pots more frequently, especially in hot weather.
Spring · Planting
Prune lightly after flowering
Give the plant a light haircut, generally tidying it up and removing any shoots that are wayward or damaged in any way. Dead flowers can be cut off if this is practical - the shrub may have too many, or they may be hard to reach.
Planting & general
Outdoor planting · Planting
Add root growth stimulant to the planting hole
Mycorrhizal fungi helps roots establish quickly, so they absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. It comes as a powder, granule or gel. Add to the planting hole or container, and to the plant's rootball before planting in the hole. For "bareroot" plants use a gel.
Found in
More Berberis
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Barberry
Berberis 'Golden Dream'
Barberry
Berberis candidula
Whitish barberry, Paleleaf barberry
Berberis darwinii
Darwin's barberry
Berberis darwinii
Darwin's barberry
Berberis linearifolia 'Orange King'
Narrow-leaved berberis
Berberis microphylla 'Pygmaea'
Dwarf Magellan barberry
Berberis thunbergii
Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry