Fireball Japanese Barberry

*This variety produces little or no viable seed, so it cannot become invasive. It is safe to grow even where Berberis is restricted.

Image a plant that is incredibly tough and easy to grow, but that will bring the most powerful color into your garden. Staying small and compact, it is ideal for low hedges, filling the front of garden beds, planting around your home, or on slopes and in rough areas, and needs no particular care. If you are having trouble thinking of something, here is a clue – the Fireball Japanese Barberry. 

Growing Fireball Japanese Barberry Shrubs

The Fireball Japanese Barberry is a compact, rounded deciduous shrub that needs no clipping to stay neat and attractive. It grows between 12 and 24 inches tall and forms a neat ball the same size across. It is fast-growing and soon becomes an attractive feature in your garden, however you use it. Without a doubt this is the brightest Japanese Barberry available. The leaves are a brilliant red from the moment they emerge in spring, and all through the summer months. In fall their color deepens, and for solid, reliable and permanent red, this bush is simply unbeatable. As well, although there have been issues with some Japanese Barberry invading natural areas in some parts of the country, this plant has no flowers, so it cannot and does not produce any seed, so it can never spread. You can grow it anywhere and protect your natural surroundings as well.

Planting

The Fireball Japanese Barberry is incredibly versatile, and it is very easy to grow. Plant it as color specimens among other low shrubs in the foreground of your beds. Plant it in groups, spacing plants 12 to 15 inches apart, to fill larger areas. It looks great in the foreground of those larger evergreens growing around your home, or in wilder parts of the garden, where it looks equally at home. Plant it on a slope for beauty and erosion control from its dense shoots and roots. Use it among boulders and in rock gardens, with colorful evergreens of different forms and tones. Use it in rows as an edging, or to make a beautiful boundary along a pathway or driveway. The stems are spiny, so it also makes an impenetrable barrier for two-legged and four-legged unwelcome visitors.

Initial Care

The Fireball Japanese Barberry is very easy to grow almost anywhere. It is hardy all through zone 4, where it is especially appreciated since many other plants are not hardy there. It grows all the way down into zone 8, so almost everywhere in the country it will thrive. It grows best in full sun, developing the richest and strongest colors on its leaves, but it will also tolerate a little partial shade, so it will grow in a lot of places in your garden. It grows in almost all soils, from sand to clay, just as long as it is well-drained – wet soil is not suitable for this plant. Once established it is very drought resistant, so it really shines for those hot, sunny and dry spots in your garden. It never suffers from any pests or diseases, even deer leave it alone, and it thrives in tough urban conditions. 

History and Origins of Fireball Japanese Barberry Shrubs

The Fireball Japanese Barberry is a specially-created form of the Japanese barberry, Berberis thunbergii. That plant was immediately popular when it was first brought to America in 1875, by plant collectors from the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. They found it growing in Japan, and its yellow flowers and red berries were a big hit at the time. Since then it has become a reliable garden staple, especially in cold climates, although the original green leaf form is now almost never grown. In the early 20th century red leaf forms were found among seedlings in France, and a dwarf form of these, called ‘Atropurpurea Nana’ provided the pollen that created the variety called ‘Fireball’. It was used in a controlled breeding program by the prolific Barberry breeder Michal Andrusiv, at his breeding station in Litomyšl, in the Czech Republic. In 1994 he used that pollen to create seeds from the variety ‘Goldalita’, a dwarf variety with small golden leaves. 

From the batch of seedlings that grew he selected one that stood out for its fiery color and neat form, and that was the original Fireball Japanese Barberry. It is protected by Plant Breeder Rights in Europe since 2008, and it was patented in the USA in 2010. It can only be reproduced from stem pieces, and the license is held by PlantHaven International Inc., a distributor who specialize in shrubs and flowers grown for their foliage. Our plants are guaranteed to be genetically identical to that original discovery, not cheap second-rate seedling plants. This tough and reliable plant, which can be grown even where Berberis is restricted, has won the prestigious Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in Great Britain, so we know how good it is, and so do our customers. These plants are selling fast, so order now, while our stock remains available.

Invasive Plant Info

Although Japanese Barberry is quite popular throughout the US, it is found to be invasive in a number of states including our home state of MD. Although it can be bought and planted it should be planted with caution. it is listed as a tier-2 invasive plant in Maryland.