Barberry

(Nov. 2009)

For the third year in a row my barberry plants are dropping their leaves. This doesn’t seem to affect them, as they come back strong the next spring, but they look pretty unsightly all winter long. Is there something I can do to prevent them from shedding their pretty red leaves. They even seem to turn redder, with no spots that I can see before the leaves drop off.

I get this question quite often. There is nothing you can do to stop a normal process. Barberry plants are deciduous, which means they are supposed to lose their leaves in the fall. They are not the most attractive plant without foliage, since the stems are covered in thorns. Plant some evergreens nearby or help to mask them with winter color. They will shed leaves annually and bounce back the following spring.

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