Hello, I have common barberry bushes in my front yard, they have been here since my house was built... There are two holes due to a coal truck bringing in coal to our house... (We now have electric heat) we have tried everything to get then to grown and fill the holes, we have used fresh clippings in rooting hormones and that didn't work, we have some areas growing but not where we want them... And no one in our area sells the green common barberry because it is common... Wondering if there are any ideas on how to help fill the holes. If we buy a purple or light green barberry would it transition into the color we need? And would it fill the holes

Barberry can be started from cuttings. Do a little research on plant propagation as there are different techniques for different times of the year. In mid-summer, semi-ripe cuttings will work best. That is growth that has grown this year but hasn't turned completely woody yet.

Common barberry is classified as a noxious weed in many places, it is host to a serious disease that passes to certain agricultural crops. You can read more about it here:

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPubl...

The barberries sold in nurseries are Berberis thunbergii which is not susceptible. They won't change colour and you'd have to check the label for mature size because the different cultivars vary.

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