Japanese barberry "Aurea" progression

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I purchased the tree in May 2013 and did some initial pruning, I was going for a clump style, but it wound up as a kind of neagari-clump hybrid.
 

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The tree in its training pot last July (2019) after trimming and positioning branches.
 

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When I repotted in January 31 this year, the pot was completely full with roots. It had been in the same pot since 2016, so no surprise there.

Every year, birds eat the berries as they mature, but I might spray repellent on them this year.
 

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Here's an update, I gave it a trim today. The longest shoots have hardened, while newer shoots are still soft and have been left to grow.
Before and after attached.

I've been only trimming the apex/ main trunk in the fall, so it stays bigger than the rest of the tree.
 

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9-7-20 smimg.jpg

The tree today. The first hot day of summer came after many cool days, and it hit 100 degrees. Although I watered the tree three times that day, the leaves got crispy so perhaps the pot overheated and damaged the roots. The lesson is that I should have moved it into shade. I was forced to defoliate the tree, and took the opportunity to cut it back hard. It's been on a partial shade bench ever since.

The end result is a more compact tree, although with less ramification.
 
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