Berberis 'Chocolate Summer' - Dark Chocolate Barberry
Compact Evergreen with Rich Dark Chocolate Foliage
Overview
Berberis 'Chocolate Summer' is a distinctive compact evergreen barberry that brings unique colour to the garden with its rich dark chocolate-brown foliage. This relatively new cultivar offers something completely different from traditional green or purple barberries, with leaves that maintain their deep chocolate-bronze colouration throughout the year. Its naturally neat, rounded habit and unusual foliage colour make it perfect for contemporary garden designs, containers, and anywhere gardeners want to create striking colour contrasts with a plant that's both beautiful and practical.
Key Features
Foliage: Small, oval leaves (2-3cm long) with distinctive rich dark chocolate-brown colouration that intensifies in full sun. The evergreen foliage maintains its unique colour year-round, deepening to almost burgundy-chocolate in winter.
Size: Compact, naturally rounded habit reaching 60-80cm in height and 60-80cm in spread when mature, making it ideal for smaller gardens and container cultivation.
Growth Rate: Slow to moderate growth rate, typically adding 10-20cm per year once established, naturally maintaining its compact proportions.
Flowers: Small, bright yellow flowers appear in late spring, creating a stunning contrast against the dark chocolate foliage and attracting beneficial insects.
Thorns: Well-armed with sharp spines along the branches, providing effective security benefits despite its ornamental appeal.
Berries: Small dark berries may follow the flowers, though fruit production can be variable.
Growing Conditions
Light Requirements: Performs best in full sun to partial shade. Full sun intensifies the rich chocolate colouration, whilst partial shade is tolerated but may result in lighter brown tones.
Soil: Adaptable to most soil types including clay, loam, and sandy soils. Prefers well-draining conditions but tolerates both dry spells and occasional moisture. pH range 6.0-8.0.
Hardiness: Hardy throughout most of the UK (RHS hardiness rating H4-H5), tolerating temperatures down to -10°C to -15°C. May benefit from sheltered position in coldest regions.
Exposure: Tolerates moderate wind exposure but benefits from shelter in very exposed sites, particularly when young.
Planting and Care
Planting Time: Best planted in spring or early autumn for optimal establishment, though container-grown plants can be planted year-round in suitable weather conditions.
Spacing: Allow 80cm-1 metre between plants for mass planting or low hedging, or plant as individual specimens with adequate space to reach full size.
Watering: Water regularly during the first growing season to establish roots. Once established, shows good drought tolerance though benefits from watering during prolonged dry periods.
Feeding: Apply a balanced slow-release fertiliser in early spring to maintain healthy growth and foliage colour intensity.
Pruning: Minimal pruning required due to naturally compact habit. If necessary, prune lightly after flowering in early summer to maintain shape. Always wear protective gloves when handling.
Garden Uses
Contemporary Gardens: Outstanding for modern garden designs where unusual foliage colours create striking focal points and contemporary appeal.
Container Planting: Excellent for pots and planters where its compact size and unique colour provide year-round interest on patios, terraces, and balconies.
Mixed Borders: Provides exceptional colour contrast with green, silver, or golden-leaved plants, creating sophisticated colour combinations.
Low Hedging: Creates an attractive, unusual low hedge that's both functional and ornamental.
Specimen Planting: Makes a striking focal point where its unique chocolate colouration can be fully appreciated.
Architectural Gardens: Perfect for structured, contemporary landscapes where bold foliage colours are valued.
Seasonal Performance
Spring: New growth emerges in fresh chocolate tones, bright yellow flowers create spectacular contrast against dark foliage.
Summer: Maintains consistent rich chocolate-brown colour throughout hot weather, providing reliable colour foundation.
Autumn: Foliage may deepen and intensify, with some plants showing subtle colour variations.
Winter: Evergreen nature ensures year-round colour interest, with foliage often deepening to burgundy-chocolate in cold weather.
Companion Plants
The unique chocolate-brown foliage creates striking combinations with a wide range of plants. Pairs beautifully with silver-leaved plants such as artemisia, lavender, and lamb's ear for sophisticated contrasts. Creates dramatic combinations with golden or lime-green foliage plants like golden heucheras, golden grasses, or chartreuse hostas. Works excellently with orange or coral-coloured flowers that complement the warm brown tones.
Design Applications
Modern Gardens: The unusual colour and clean lines suit contemporary minimalist designs and structured planting schemes.
Colour-Themed Gardens: Perfect for gardens focusing on warm earth tones, bronze themes, or autumnal colour schemes.
Urban Gardens: Excellent for city gardens where its unique colour stands out against architectural backdrops.
Mediterranean Gardens: The drought tolerance and warm colour tones suit Mediterranean-style plantings.
Container Cultivation
Pot Size: Requires containers at least 40-50cm diameter for healthy long-term growth.
Compost: Use high-quality, well-draining multipurpose compost with added grit or perlite for improved drainage.
Maintenance: Water regularly during growing season, feed monthly with balanced liquid fertiliser during active growth.
Winter Protection: In containers, may benefit from fleece protection or moving to sheltered position during coldest weather.
Unique Selling Points
Distinctive Colour: The rich chocolate-brown foliage is unusual among hardy shrubs, offering something completely different.
Year-Round Interest: Evergreen nature provides constant colour and structure throughout all seasons.
Compact Size: Perfect scale for modern smaller gardens and contemporary landscaping.
Low Maintenance: Requires minimal care once established, ideal for busy gardeners.
Wildlife Benefits
Pollinators: Bright yellow spring flowers attract bees and beneficial insects, providing early nectar sources.
Birds: Dense thorny growth provides shelter and potential nesting sites for small birds.
Garden Security: Thorny nature provides deterrent benefits whilst remaining ornamentally attractive.
Potential Considerations
Being a relatively new cultivar, long-term hardiness data is still being established. May be slightly less hardy than traditional berberis varieties, particularly in exposed positions. The unique colour may not suit all garden styles or personal preferences.
Why Choose Berberis 'Chocolate Summer'?
This innovative cultivar offers gardeners something truly unique - rich chocolate-brown evergreen foliage that provides year-round colour interest in a perfectly compact package. Its distinctive colouration opens up new possibilities for garden colour schemes and contemporary design applications that simply aren't possible with traditional green or purple shrubs. The combination of unusual colour, compact size, and evergreen nature makes it invaluable for modern gardens where space is limited but impact is essential. Whether used in containers, mixed borders, or as specimen plantings, 'Chocolate Summer' provides a sophisticated colour element that elevates garden designs beyond the ordinary. For gardeners seeking to create unique, contemporary landscapes with plants that offer both beauty and practicality, this chocolate-brown gem represents an exciting addition to the modern plant palette.
Buying Shrubs from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell a variety of shrubs both evergreen and deciduous with a variety of flowering times throughout the year. At certain times of the year our shrubs you buy from us may not look like the images shown on our website when deciduous leaves have fallen, the shrub has finished flowering or has been trimmed back.
Some leaves on evergreen shrubs can be damaged in winter by frost or harsh winds but in spring new leaves will readily replace those damaged. This is quite normal on many evergreen varieties and is preferable to plants grown with excessive protection that show cold shock once planted out and establish less satisfactory initially.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
* Please Note: Shrubs in 20 litre pots and above might require a pallet delivery starting at £79.99 per pallet. Depending on the exact pot size and height it may be possible to get approximately 5 plants per pallet at no extra cost. The maximum height we can dispatch on a pallet is 2.0m, this includes the height of the pallet and pot.
Shrubs are deciduous or evergreen woody plants, and often provide fragrant flowers, berries and foliage. They are good for structural framework, and they can provide a wonderful shelter and food source for wildlife.
Planting and Conditions
Container grown shrubs can be grown at any time of year. It is a little known fact that shrubs planted in the autumn and winter will be easier to look after than those planted in the spring and summer, because they will have time to establish and become hardy in the cooler months.
Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot.
One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.
Make sure you loosen the soil prior to planting. Most shrubs are tolerant of most soil types as long as it is fairly well draining.
Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot.
Aftercare and Pruning
Once established, shrubs generally do not require much water. However, at first they need careful, frequent watering and should not be left to dry out.
Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.
Shrubs also benefit from mulching in order to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide vital nutrients. Mulch also greatly improves soil conditions. Shrubs can be mulched in late winter, after fertiliser has been applied, but it can be mulched through autumn to late spring as long as the ground is damp.
All shrubs benefit from dead-heading once spent flowers become apparent. Rhododendrons and Lilac especially benefit from the removal of dead flowers.
Some shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones.
To control reversion, remove reverted shoots promptly to discourage them. Reverted shoots are usually much more vigorous than the variegated ones, and thus should be completely pruned out and cut back into wood containing variegated foliage.
Potential Issues
Although shrubs are usually very robust garden plants, they can sometimes start to decline with no apparent or obvious reason.
This will start with browning leaves, which could indicate plant stress due to lack of water or waterlogging, an establishment failure or, in the worst case scenario, honey fungus. Another cause of leaf browning is a high salt content in the soil. This could be a natural occurrence, especially if you live near the ocean, or it could be from over fertilisation.
To remedy a high salt content, cut back on fertiliser and step up your watering regime for the next few weeks. If you live by the ocean, this will be harder to remedy—but stepping up your watering will help to wash some of the salt away all the same.
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