Golden Abundance barberry

Berberis ‘Golden Abundance’

Description

The Golden Abundance barberry is a large and robust evergreen shrub that produces many upright stems that easily grows 6-8 ft. tall. It develops and spreads by underground rhizomes to eventually form plants 6-10 ft. wide. Leathery foliage is dark glossy green and divided into 7-9 leaflets with sharp spines on margins. Large clusters of showy yellow flowers occur in late winter to mid spring; powdery blue berries mature in late summer through fall.

Berberis ‘Golden Abundance’ is a highly adaptable native plant with handsome foliage character, striking flowers and good tolerance of heat, sun and aridity. It is best adapted to dry and warm conditions throughout the Inland Empire when it is grown in partial shade. It grows easily with plants of the Western Sycamore garden palette and functions well as a screen, background and flowering accent plant with periodic summer water.

Plant Type: Shrub
Foliage Character: Evergreen
Habit: Upright, Robust, Clumping
Growth Rate: Moderate
Foliage Color: Dark green
Flower Color: Yellow
Flower Season: Winter, Spring
Soil Adaptations: Well-draining soil, Clay
Exposure Adaptations: Morning sun, Heat, Aridity, Partial sun
Function: Wildlife value, Screening, Flowering accent plant, Background plant, Attracts butterflies
Height: 6 ft. – 8 ft.
Width: 6 ft. – 10 ft.

Watering Schedule: Low 2

For most situations, we recommend watering deeply every 2 weeks after establishment.

Learn how to apply this watering schedule to your landscape on our How to water waterwise and California native plants page.

Important Notes

These are general guidelines. Always observe and adjust as necessary for your landscape.
If it rains over 1” you will likely not need to water for at least another two weeks. Before watering again, check the soil. It should be significantly dry at least 4” below the soil surface before watering.
To save water, in many cases you can go longer in between waterings during the winter, often up to 3-4 weeks between watering for well-established plants. Two weeks after watering, check the soil approximately 4” below the surface. If it is still significantly moist, you can wait longer before watering again.
In most cases, if you have a “smart timer” or weather sensitive irrigation controller, you may use these features to save some water in in the fall and winter. If you are using automatic weather adjusting functions, continue to allow the timer to run every two weeks. It will adjust the number of minutes it runs to account for the cooler weather.
It is important to group plants with the same water needs together in the landscape to avoid needing to over or under water plants when running your irrigation system.

Overview

Golden Abundance barberry is a lush-looking but low-water demanding plant once established. When properly sited in shade or part-shade it is compatible both with generally low-water plantings (Schedule Low 2) or at the even lower irrigation frequency most often used for California native landscapes (Schedule Low 1).

Alternative Watering Options

Golden Abundance barberry can also perform well in most gardens, once well established, using watering schedule Low 1, watering deeply every 3-4 weeks. Plants receiving this less frequent irrigation schedule may grow slower. Golden Abundance barberries planted under oak trees in our demonstration garden at the Waterwise Community Center are watered every 4 weeks in the warm season to prioritize the health of the oaks which prefer less frequent or no irrigation once established. These plants look good year round when growing in significant shade and being watered at this interval on our site.