Golden barberry, yearly problem - Ask Extension
My barberry shrubs start out great. Around this time each year, they start to develop small brown spots. The leaves eventually dry up and fall off lea...
Knowledgebase
Golden barberry, yearly problem #872311
Asked June 09, 2024, 4:56 PM EDT
My barberry shrubs start out great. Around this time each year, they start to develop small brown spots. The leaves eventually dry up and fall off leaving mostly bare branches. I see no evidence of pests. In previous years, I assumed the problem was high heat and humidity, but we haven’t had that this year. I have not been able to find help on Google. This is the perfect time to show the problem, because it is just beginning to show up. See pics attached.
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
Do they recover over the summer? If so you may have gotten some herbicide drift. It could also be a number of other issues. Compare what you are seeing with the following website diagnostics.
https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/deciduous/barberry/
https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/deciduous/barberry/
No. From this point on they will get worse and worse.
It sounds like a leaf spot disease-probably bacterial. Typically they overwinter in the soil and then start up again in the spring. Cleaning up all the leaves as they fall is one key to preventing the return in the spring. You could send a sample to the Plant Disease Clinic for a diagnosis.
1. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/leaf-spot-diseases-trees-and-shrubs
2. https://pdc.umn.edu/
1. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/leaf-spot-diseases-trees-and-shrubs
2. https://pdc.umn.edu/
