NCBX1

Japanese Barberry

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Concorde'

Summary: The plants of 'NCBX1' are larger than those of 'Concorde'. The young shoot of 'NCBX1' is dark brown purple with dark brown purple leaves while that of 'Concorde' is dark purple red to dark red with dark red leaves. The spines on the stem of 'NCBX1' are shorter than those of 'Concorde'. The leaf of 'NCBX1' is wider than that of 'Concorde'. The upper side of the leaf of 'NCBX1' is black while that of 'Concorde' is dark brown.

Description:

PLANT: deciduous, compact rounded, very dense foliage, broader than tall

BRANCH: semi-erect attitude
YOUNG SHOOT: dark brown purple (RHS 183B), leaf dark brown purple (RHS 178A)
STEM: simple spines, ranging between four to six to more than six leaves per node

LEAF: broad elliptic to obovate, spines only on apex, obtuse apex, black (duller than RHS N186A) on upper side when mature, no secondary colour, absent or weak glossiness, flat or weakly convex profile in cross-section, absent or very weak undulation of margin

FLOWER: single or raceme type
FLOWER BUD: red
PETAL: medium yellow (RHS 12A), rounded apex

FRUIT: absent

Origin & Breeding History: 'NCBX1' originated from a hybrid cross conducted in the spring of 2004 in Mills River, North Carolina, USA. The cross was made between the female parent variety Berberis x media 'Red Jewel' and the male parent variety Berberis thunbergii 'Concorde'. From the resulting progeny, a single unique seedling was selected in the summer of 2005 based on its compact plant growth habit, purple foliage colour and very low flower fertility. Asexual reproduction of 'NCBX1' was first conducted by stem cuttings in 2006 in Mills River, North Carolina, USA.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'NCBX1' was conducted in a greenhouse at Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand Haven, Michigan, USA from 2022 to 2023. The trial included a total of 10 plants each of the candidate and reference variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted in 11 litre pots in 2022. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants, or parts of plants, of each variety on July 31, 2023. All colour determinations were made using the 2015 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart. Mean differences were significant at the 5% confidence probability level based on a paired Student's t-test.

Comparison tables for 'NCBX1' with reference variety 'Concorde'

Plant height (cm)

Plant width (cm)

Colour of young shoot (RHS)

Leaf blade width (cm)

Colour of mature leaf blade (RHS)

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Japanese Barberry: 'NCBX1' (left) with reference variety 'Concorde' (right)

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Japanese Barberry: 'NCBX1' (left) with reference variety 'Concorde' (right)