Plant DetailShow Menu

Berberis verruculosa

Common Name(s):

Phonetic Spelling
BER-ber-is ver-ruk-yoo-LO-sah
Description

Warty barberry is an evergreen shrub in the barberry family (Berberidaceae) native to China. It gets its common name from the rounded raised spots on the stems.

This shrub grows 3 to 6 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide in a rounded arching form. It prefers partial shade to shade and tolerates any well-drained garden soil.  It is drought-tolerant once established. Propagate by seed or stem cuttings. Spreads to form thickets. Birds will spread the seeds.

The solitary golden-yellow flowers are 1 inch across and appear in late spring to summer. They are followed by blue-black berries in the fall. The leaves are glossy green with glaucous undersides and spiny teeth. The stems have narrow three-parted spines. The plant has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1929.

Warty Barberry can be used as a specimen, hedge, or barrier plant. It can also be used on slopes and banks to help with erosion.

Quick ID Hints:

  • Stems covered in tiny wart-like excrescences
  • Leaves on dwarf shoots, 3-parted spines at nodes
  • Leaves green or reddish above, tomentose underneath

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:   Watch for berberis sawfly and powdery mildew. Deer resistant.

More information on Berberis.

See this plant in the following landscape:
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Apricot Queen'
    Yellow-orange flowers, 10 feet tall
  • 'Aurea'
    Yellow-green foliage
  • 'Compacta'
    Dwarf variety 2 to 3 feet tall
  • 'Kobold'
    Dwarf variety 2 feet tall
  • 'Silver Beauty'
    Varigated leaves with whitish margins
'Apricot Queen', 'Aurea', 'Compacta', 'Kobold', 'Silver Beauty'
Tags:
#purple#gold#evergreen#full sun tolerant#drought tolerant#specimen#shrub#purple leaves#yellow flowers#winter interest#slopes#security plant#gold flowers#deer browsing plant#deer resistant#spines#black fruits#fantz#purple fruits#urban conditions tolerant#partial shade tolerant#perennial#hedge
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Apricot Queen'
    Yellow-orange flowers, 10 feet tall
  • 'Aurea'
    Yellow-green foliage
  • 'Compacta'
    Dwarf variety 2 to 3 feet tall
  • 'Kobold'
    Dwarf variety 2 feet tall
  • 'Silver Beauty'
    Varigated leaves with whitish margins
'Apricot Queen', 'Aurea', 'Compacta', 'Kobold', 'Silver Beauty'
Tags:
#purple#gold#evergreen#full sun tolerant#drought tolerant#specimen#shrub#purple leaves#yellow flowers#winter interest#slopes#security plant#gold flowers#deer browsing plant#deer resistant#spines#black fruits#fantz#purple fruits#urban conditions tolerant#partial shade tolerant#perennial#hedge
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Berberis
    Species:
    verruculosa
    Family:
    Berberidaceae
    Recommended Propagation Strategy:
    Seed
    Stem Cutting
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Native to China
    Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
    Deer and rabbit resistant
    Dimensions:
    Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
    Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Shrub
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Broadleaf Evergreen
    Habit/Form:
    Arching
    Dense
    Rounded
    Spreading
    Growth Rate:
    Slow
    Maintenance:
    Low
    Texture:
    Fine
    Appendage:
    Spines
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
    Soil Texture:
    Clay
    Loam (Silt)
    Sand
    Soil pH:
    Acid (<6.0)
    Alkaline (>8.0)
    Neutral (6.0-8.0)
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
    5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
  • Fruit:
    Fruit Color:
    Black
    Purple/Lavender
    Fruit Type:
    Berry
    Fruit Length:
    < 1 inch
    Fruit Description:
    This plant has 0.3-inch fruit that is violet-black with a bloom, ovoid berry.
  • Flowers:
    Flower Color:
    Gold/Yellow
    Orange
    Flower Inflorescence:
    Raceme
    Flower Size:
    < 1 inch
    Flower Description:
    This plant has golden-yellow flowers. 2-5, yellow, 1/2", borne on long pedicels. Inflorescence in subumbellate racemes.
  • Leaves:
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Broadleaf Evergreen
    Leaf Color:
    Green
    White
    Leaf Feel:
    Leathery
    Smooth
    Leaf Type:
    Simple
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Alternate
    Leaf Shape:
    Elliptical
    Lanceolate
    Ovate
    Leaf Margin:
    Serrate
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Length:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Description:
    This plant has alternate, simple, leathery, and dark green leaves that are 0.5-1.5 inches long. Leaves taper at both ends, and the margins are slightly spiny toothed. They may become purplish-green or mahogany in winter. Elliptic or ovate to ovate-lanceolate, margins remotely spiny-toothed and recurved, glabrous, dark green above, glaucous and tomentose underneath, clustered on dwarf shoots in spine axil.
  • Stem:
    Stem Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
    Stem Description:
    Rounded, light brown, covered with tiny, dark brown excrescences, imparting a rough texture to bark; spines are slender, 3-parted, less than 1" long.
  • Landscape:
    Landscape Location:
    Coastal
    Landscape Theme:
    Cottage Garden
    Drought Tolerant Garden
    Winter Garden
    Design Feature:
    Barrier
    Border
    Hedge
    Security
    Specimen
    Resistance To Challenges:
    Deer
    Drought
    Urban Conditions