A solution of bleach and water can be helpful in disinfecting pruning tools.
Heavy annual pruning encourages barberry bushes to grow into dense, bushy forms. These shrubs have sharp spines and colorful foliage, making them an ornamental attraction in the landscape and an effective visual and physical barrier. Barberries can be grown as part of a base crop, shrub borders and mass planting, or as specimens in shrubs or hedges. Shrubs can be pruned into neat, even shapes or formal hedges, or trimmed to follow a natural growth pattern.
Japanese barberry is one of the most common barberry shrubs grown in landscape settings. This dense shrub displays bright green foliage in spring. In late summer and fall, the leaves turn orange and red. The Japanese blueberry grows 3 to 6 feet (90 to 180 cm) tall, with a slightly wider range. It is a deciduous shrub that loses its leaves in winter. Other common varieties of barberry include a broadleaf perennial called Wintergreen Barberry and the deciduous Mentor Barberry.
Both deciduous and evergreen varieties should be pruned in summer. Barberry bushes flower on woody plants produced in the previous season. It is best to prune as soon as the flowers are ready in late summer or early fall. Pruning barberry in winter while the plant is dormant will result in fewer flowers during the next growing season.
Severe pruning is a method used to prune multi-stemmed shrubs, including barberry. At least half of the stems are cut to the ground. When using the severe pruning method for barberry pruning, older stems are cut back to encourage the growth of new bushes. The remaining stems can be pruned to the desired height and spread out.
Perhaps the best advice for pruning barberry is to start early, right after planting. The first two years are important for shaping a new barberry bush or hedge. Severe initial pruning also encourages dense, bushy growth.
A good tip for pruning barberry when the bush is old, leggy, or overgrown is to use the severe pruning method to cut the oldest stems to the ground. Selective pruning can be used to cut the rest of the bush to the desired shape and size. Sharp pruning shears cut younger branches effectively, and a pruning saw is adequate for older, thicker branches.
Barberry pruning to remove dead or broken branches can be done at any time of the year. Diseased wood must also be removed immediately. The cut should be made in healthy wood, about 5 cm or more below the damaged or diseased area. When pruning diseased wood, tools should be cleaned with rubbing alcohol or another disinfectant between each cut to prevent the spread of disease.
