Amur barberry is a shrub of the Barberry family, one of the species of the genus Barberry. Not everyone knows what this plant is. Description and photo of the Amur barberry is contained in this article.
Distribution area
In the wild, the Amur barberry grows in the Primorsky Territory and the southern part of the Khabarovsk Territory, in the eastern regions of China, Korea, and partly in Japan. It got its name from a description from the Amur River valley.
Prefers broad-leaved, broad-leaved-cedar and cedar-spruce forests, forest edges, mountain river banks, river terraces, bush thickets, dry stony and rubbly slopes. It loves humus-rich soils. Barberry does not grow in dense thickets.
The plant itself is winter-hardy, drought-resistant and heat-resistant, so gardeners successfully cultivate it throughout Russia.
Amur barberry: variety description
Barberry is a low-branched thorny shrub. Its height is up to 3.5 meters. A shrub with straight, weakly branched, erect and ribbed branches that change color from yellowish to gray by autumn.
KidneysAmur barberry red or brown, up to 1.5 mm long, spicy. The leaves are arranged alternately, the shape of the leaf is elliptical or obovate, the length of the leaf is 12 cm, the width is 5 cm. The leaves themselves are membranous, the edges are finely prickly-toothed. The color of the leaves varies: from matte light green to purple, dark red. Leaves grow mainly in bunches on shortened shoots.
The spines of the yellowish Amur barberry, as a rule, are tripartite, reaching 3 cm in length.
The inflorescences of the shrub are racemose, up to 10 cm long, in the inflorescence from 10 to 25 flowers. The flowers themselves are drooping on long pedicels (about 1 cm), the color is pale yellow, they are distinguished by a strong aroma. Six sepals obovate. There are also six petals and stamens. Amur barberry shrub blooms in May-June, flowering duration - up to 20 days.
The berries of the barberry are dry, ellipsoidal in shape, about 1 cm long, bright red in color, sour in taste. The seed is ovoid in shape, 4-5 mm long. In 1 kg, there are approximately 6200 fruits. The fruiting time of the shrub is August-October.
Summing up the description of the Amur barberry, we can say that today this plant is quite popular. Due to the beautiful shape of the bush, large leaves, abundant flowering and fruiting, both single and group plantings are recommended, as well ashedges.
Blank
Amur barberry is very often used for medicinal purposes. Leaves, fruits, bark and roots of the plant are harvested.
Harvesting of leaves occurs in May-June, when the barberry blooms. Leaves can be cut with scissors or simply cut off. Then they are dried, laid out on paper or on fabric in a ventilated place (in the attic or under a canopy). After the leaves dry, they become dark green above and light green below. They themselves will be thin, brittle, twisted, with a peculiar smell and slightly acidic taste. Dry, well-ventilated areas are suitable for storage. Leaves are usually stored for 1-1.5 years.
Harvesting of roots takes place in autumn (October-November) or spring (April). They need to be dug up with a shovel, shaken off the ground, cut off small roots and dried in the air. They do not need to be washed to retain their medicinal properties. Dried roots should be cut into 1.5-2 cm and dried well. For this, both a canopy or attic, as well as a dryer or oven, are suitable. Well-dried roots have longitudinal wrinkles, lemon yellow inside, brown outside, with a slight odor and a bitter taste.
The root system of the bush is not used completely, as a rule, a cutting of 10-15 cm is left. For thick roots (more than 6 cm in diameter), only the bark and a small amount of core are used.
Dried roots are packed in bags and stored for up to 3 years.
The harvesting of the bark takes place in the spring (April-May), when thesap flow. Only young branches are suitable for this, which are cut along the entire diameter after 10-15 cm, then cut along and remove the bark. You need to dry it in the same way as the roots. When dried, the bark looks like tubes or grooves with wood residues on the inner surface. The color of the dried bark is yellowish-gray inside and gray or brownish-yellow outside, with a slight specific smell and bitter taste. It can be stored up to 3 years.
Fruits are harvested after they are fully ripe in late autumn, when the first frosts have passed. You can dry them in the sun, under a canopy or in the oven.
Chemical composition and pharmacological properties
Amur barberry is rich in alkaloids, berberine, palmitine, etc. The bark and roots are rich in berberine, oxyacanthin, alkaloids, tannins, colorants and resinous substances.
Barberry fruits are rich in sugars, carotene, vitamin K, ascorbic, citric, tartaric, malic acid, alkaloids, tannins, pectin, dyes, mineral s alts. The leaves are rich in tannins, resinous substances, essential oils, vitamin C, malic acid, carotene, phylloquinone.
Barberry preparations have anti-inflammatory, choleretic, diuretic, antimicrobial, astringent, hemostatic and antiseptic properties. With the help of berberine, which is part of the barberry, they lower blood pressure, slow down the pulse during tachycardia, and increase the outflow of bile.
Amur barberry is widely used in medicine. They are treated for chronicdiseases of the liver and gallbladder, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, inflammation of the upper respiratory tract and tuberculosis. With the help of barberry, diarrhea, dysentery, and asthma are cured. Barberry tincture stops uterine bleeding in the postpartum period.
Planting and care
Amur barberry is not picky about the soil, is not afraid of strong winds, tolerates drought well, does not like only waterlogging. The plant is photophilous, but will grow well in partial shade. At the same time, there is only one feature: if you grow bushes in direct sunlight, then the color of the leaves will be saturated purple; bushes growing in partial shade will have green color in the leaves.
With single plantings, the distance between plants should be approximately 1.5-2 meters. When making a free-growing hedge, two barberry bushes are planted per 1 linear meter. If you need a dense hedge, then 4 bushes per 1 meter.
The plant grows well in both acidic and neutral soil, although it prefers neutral soil.
The soil mixture for planting is prepared from garden soil, humus and sand in equal proportions. If the soil is still acidic, then liming is recommended.
You can feed the plant in the second year after planting. In the spring, this is done with the help of nitrogen fertilizers. After that, you need to feed 1 time in 3 years with complex fertilizers with trace elements. Water the barberry once a week. Also, the plant loves weeding and frequent loosening.
Annuallypruning barberry - remove weak, poorly developed shoots. In the spring, it is advisable to thin out the old bushes. Forming hedges, pruning is carried out in the second year after planting, while cutting off about half of the above-ground part. After that, pruning is done 2 times a year: in June and August.
Diseases and pests
Amur barberry is affected by the following pests:
- Barberry aphid - while the leaves shrivel and dry out. A solution of laundry soap (300 grams of soap per bucket of water) helps to get rid of it. Sprayed in spring.
- Flower moth - these caterpillars eat fruit. "Decis" (0.05-0.01%) or "Chlorophos" (0.1-0.3%) helps to get rid of it.
From diseases powdery mildew can be noted. It appears as a powdery coating on leaves, shoots and fruits.
Colloidal sulfur solution (0.5%), sulfur-lime mixture or sulfur-lime decoction helps to get rid of it. The first time is sprayed when the leaves bloom, then every 2-3 weeks. Severely affected shoots should be removed and burned.
The barberry of this variety is less affected by rust than other types of barberry.
Reproduction and cultivation of Amur barberry
The plant propagates by dividing the bush, roots, cuttings and seeds. With the first, everything is clear, consider the cultivation of Amur barberry from seeds.
Seeds are sown, usually in autumn. Freshly picked berries should be squeezed, sifted through a sieve, rinsed and lightlydry.
Sowing itself is carried out in pre-prepared grooves to a depth of no more than 1 cm. The soil for growing Amur barberry should be loose and fertile, and the site should be open and well lit. At the beginning of summer, the seeds sprout together. When two true leaves appear, the seedlings need to be thinned out, leaving a distance of about 3 cm between them. After that, it is better not to transplant the seedlings, transplantation is possible after two years.
Using barberry
The use of the Amur barberry is multifaceted. In addition to its medicinal properties, hedges and borders are formed from barberry bushes. These shrubs are perfect for the conditions of central Russia. The hedges of them are impenetrable. They can be easily cut, giving the bushes any shape. Barberry is suitable for both solitary and group plantings, for growing in rock gardens and as a groundcover.
Varieties
The most popular varieties of Amur barberry are Orpheus and Japonica.
Orpheus are compact bushes of small size. It has pale leaves and does not flower.
Japanica has wide leaves and long yellow inflorescences drooping in the form of a brush. Thanks to this, the plant is very beautiful.
