Pruning:

• Barberry does not require pruning, however, responds very well to it.
• Barberry can be pruned or sheared to maintain a formal shape or hedge, to tidy up the plant, or to reduce size.
• Damaged or stray branches spoiling the plant’s shape can be removed during the summer. Prune damaged branches at the point of breakage, dead branches at their origin, and stray branches at a point just beyond the main form of the plant.
• More extensive pruning to shape or form hedges can be performed after flowering in spring and again in early to mid-summer.
• Except to remove a damaged branch, cease pruning two months before the average first frost date in your area. When plants have gone dormant for winter, pruning can resume.