Words of wisdom for Japanese barberry?

[19Mateo83]

Anyone have any advice on Japanese barberries? I have been given permission to dig one at my parents house. It’s atleast 10 years old but has been overgrown by forsythias every year so it has stayed small. It is on my spring digging list. It has awesome variegated leaves. Do these do well in bonsai?

 

[waydeo]

Be careful they have stickers like Rose's but sharper .I snip the ends of the stickers on the one I'm working on.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Pass on to someone dumb enough to be stabbed painfully as long as bush survives.

 

[sorce]

Despised.

Sorce

 

[Hartinez]

Barberry make lovely trees. I’ve got a few in the works that I need to create a post on. They can take some serious abuse. Thorns are tough, but that’s ok if the leaf color, bark and fall color are extraordinary.

 

[19Mateo83]

I have until spring to contemplate this one. Definitely going to leave stickers on. I think it ads a duality characteristic. Beautiful but dangerous

 

[Hartinez]

I have until spring to contemplate this one. Definitely going to leave stickers on. I think it ads a duality characteristic. Beautiful but dangerous

Do you have a pic of the trunk and base?

 

[19Mateo83]

Do you have a pic of the trunk and base?

I do not but it is a multi trunk. From what I can see they are not that thick. Maybe it’s thicker below the mulch.

 

[SeanS]

I just styled one up today. The thorns really weren’t bad on this one, maybe because it’s a dwarf variety. They come in so many different variations, yours looks great with the variegation!
I did manage to kill one previously though, it suffered from extensive die back which led to it rotting down to the roots, so I’d caution about that.

Today’s berberis styling

 

[19Mateo83]

Dang…. That’s a purdy one!

 

[Hartinez]

Picked up 3 of these this spring and did a repot and heavy pruning. 2 have responded very well, the third is much slower to push but is seemingly just fine, but probs more stressed than the other 2.
I have another from last year that I also chopped hard and repotted. It’s looking really great right now, but I “technically” can’t post because it’s in the 3 year vault.

These are berberis thunbergii “crimson Pygmy”
You don’t normally find them with such big single trunks so I bought the 3 best I could find.