How to Plant Red Barberry Seeds

Use a spade to till the soil prior to planting seeds in autumn.

Add vibrant red to purple foliage to your landscaping with red barberry shrubs. These colorful shrubs grow approximately 4 to 5 feet high and wide, are deer and rabbit resistant and tolerant of drought and wind. Red barberry shrubs bloom with white or yellow flowers from early to late spring and feature red, burgundy or purplish-red leaves depending on the cultivar that you have planted. The shrubs are relatively easy to grow from seed, so much so that shrubs often spread from wildlife carrying the berries and seeds away.

Things You'll Need

• Red barberry seeds
• Garden tiller/spade

Instructions

1. Buy red barberry seeds from a local nursery or online vendor. You could also gather berries from another red barberry (either your own or a friend or neighbor's). Remove the seed by gently mashing the berries and separating the seeds. Rinse the seeds and allow them to dry on a paper towel or kitchen towel. Refrigerate seeds (whether gathered or store-bought) until you are ready to sow them.

2. Prepare the area in which you will sow your seeds. Use a spade or a tiller to break up the soil to depths of 6 to 8 inches. This readies the ground for planting and aerates the soil. Use a rake to level the soil and tamp the soil down.

3. Sow seeds in autumn. Barberry seeds requires a cooling period prior to germination. Therefore, planting seeds in the fall will ensure that seeds will begin to germinate during the following spring.

4. Dig a furrow in your seed bed that is approximately twice as deep as the size of your red barberry seeds. Place seeds in the furrow and fill in with soil. Gently firm the soil and water thoroughly.

5. Add a 1- to 2-inch layer of mulch once the ground freezes. This will protect seeds and encourage soil moisture.

6. Watch for seedlings to emerge in late spring. Once they do, begin watering regularly to maintain soil moisture while your red barberry is growing -- like most plants, red barberries require approximately 1 inch of water per week.

Tips & Warnings

• Red barberry is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, depending on the variety that you use. Be sure to select a cultivar that will flourish in your local climate.

• In some areas of the United States, there are varieties of red barberry that are considered invasive. For example, Japanese barberry is an abundant seed producer and is reportedly invasive in more than 20 states.

References

• National Gardening Association: Barberry
• Backyard Gardener: Berberis thunbergii
• National Park Service: Japanese Barberry

Resources

• Greenwood Nursery: Barberry Red
• Parkseed: Gardener's Handbook
• Rare Plants: Berberis