Japanese Barberry: Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is the most popular landscape barberry. Many cultivars are available. It grows from 3 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 7 feet wide, depending on the cultivar. The shrub is medium to very dense with many thorns. The leaves are bright green in summer, changing to orange, scarlet and reddish purple in the fall. Japanese barberry is deciduous, and it is one of the first shrubs to leaf out in spring. This is true for most of the deciduous barberries. The yellow flowers in spring are not very showy, because they are small and borne under the foliage, but the berries are bright red in the fall. The ½-inch berries persist into winter and make an excellent winter effect.

Wintergreen Barberry: Wintergreen barberry (Berberis julianae) is an evergreen shrub with thorny branches. It grows about 10 feet tall and wide. The thorns and dense growth habit combine to make this an excellent barrier plant. The leaves are a lustrous dark green. They turn bronze or wine-red in the fall and remain so during the winter. Abundant yellow flowers in spring are followed by bluish-black, 1/3-inch, oval fruits that may persist into fall.

Mentor Barberry: Mentor barberry (Berberis x mentorensis) grows 4 to 6 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide. It loses its leaves in winter, but may be semi-evergreen in warm areas. The dark green, leathery leaves turn orange to red in the fall. The yellow flowers in spring are not as showy as the flowers of other species, but they are still attractive. Mentor barberry does not produce any fruits.