Purple leaf barberry is a deciduous shrub cultivar of the invasive Japanese barberry, belonging to the Berberidaceae family, characterized by striking purple-burgundy foliage and red stems. This shrub is a rounded, dense shrub with numerous spiny branches and is easy to transplant. It grows 3 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 7 feet wide. Plant in the full sun to light shade, in average to dry well well-drained soils. It is tolerant to a wide range of soil types, including clay as long as they are well-drained. This shrub is resistant to browsing by deer, and is drought and air pollution-tolerant. It spreads by runners and seeds and can form dense thickets, outcompeting native plants. The yellow fragrant flowers are showy and delicate hanging down from the branches. Stand out red-orange leaves appear in the fall and showy red fruits last through the fall and winter months. The fruits are enjoyed by birds. This plant is considered invasive in North Carolina and other states. See native plant options to the left. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: The spiny branches make it very difficult to prune. Anthracnose, root rot, bacterial leaf spot, wilt, scale, barberry webworm, and aphids are some problems that this plant may struggle with. VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee. More information on Berberis thunbergii .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Similar, less problematicBerberis thunbergii Sunjoy® GroupBerberis thunbergii WorryFree® Group
Full plant profile
Growing Conditions
Plant type
Perennial; Poisonous; Shrub
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 7 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Dense; Rounded
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow; Green; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
This plant has alternate, simple, reddish to purplish leaves (best color in full sun). They are .5 to 1.3 in.-long and narrow at the base. Leaves are borne in clusters.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow; Orange; Red/Burgundy
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Fragrant
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
This plant has small, yellow fragrant flowers tinged with purple in mid to late spring.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
This plant has .3-in., bright red fruit in fall and winter.
Fall Webworm; Aphids on Ornamental Landscape Plants; Armored Scale Identification and Management on Ornamental Plants; Soft Scale Identification and Management on Ornamental Plants; Twobanded Japanese Weevil; Indian Wax Scale Insect
Problems
Invasive Species; Poisonous to Humans; Problem for Children; Spines/Thorns; Weedy