Purple (Red) Leafed Japanese Barberry         BER-ber-is thun-BER-jee-a at-ro-pur-PEWR-ree-a

• Deciduous shrub, (similar to the species), 3-6 ft (0.9-1.8 m), very dense, rounded form, thorny, foliage is reddish or purplish in summer and red in fall.
• Full sun needed to develop color.  Not fussy, but prefers acid or neutral soil.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4    Originated in France in about 1913. Vegetatively and seed propagated.
• Many cultivars have been selected from this form (var. atropurpurea), including:
  • ‘Bagatelle’  -  dwarf, more compact and smaller leaves than ‘Crimson Pigmy’.
  • Cherry Bomb^® (‘Monobm’)  -  color similar to ‘Crimson Pigmy’, but more open branching, slow growing to 3-4 ft (0.9-1.2 m) tall and wide.
  • ‘Crimson Pigmy’  -  dwarf, reddish purple foliage, low growing, about 2 ft tall and 3 ft wide (0.6 × 0.9 m).
  • ‘Golden Ring’  -  reddish purple leaves with a yellow-green border around the margin, only noticeable when viewed close-up.
  • ‘Red Chief’  -  glossy purple leaves in late spring, become greenish purple when mature and a bright orange-purple in fall.
  • ‘Rose Glow’  -   new foliage is rose-pink, mottled with deeper red-purple splotches, matures to a deep reddish purple.
  • Royal Burgundy^TM  -  dwarf, rounded form, deep burgundy foliage becoming black-red in fall.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: south side of Wiegand.