Barleria repens. Image by Bishnu Sarangi from PixabayDescription, History & Interesting Facts:
Barleria is a large genus of herbs or shrubs, with around 250 species found throughout the warmer parts of Asia, Africa and the America’s. Some have thorny spines for protection, and all produce fruit in the form of explosive capsules.
In South Africa there are approximately 60 species, but because new species like Barleria greenii from KwaZulu-Natal are still being discovered, we still don’t actually know the correct figures.
The horticultural value of the Barleria genus has been greatly underrated for far too long, especially in South Africa, but thankfully gardeners are now truly embracing these little charmers and many garden centres and indigenous nurseries now stock them, especially when they are in bloom, and once you have one in the garden, you will want more.
In the Garden:
A really well-planned garden will include plants for all seasons and interest can come in many forms, including deciduous shrubs that display great autumn colours, flowers, colourful berries or fruits, and even attractive seed pods.
After the exuberant peak of the mid-summer garden it is often left looking a little tired and uninteresting, but if you include plants that come into their own at this time and continue flowering into autumn you have a winning recipe, and you can’t go wrong with bush violets, they are wonderfully easy-going and put on a lovely show.
Bush violets are sure to attract a lot of attention, not only from humans, but also from wildlife, attracting butterflies and a host of other insect pollinators, which in turn, attract insect eating birds.
Even stock and game love to browse on the plants and for this reason some species have developed spines to help protect them from being browsed upon.
Cultivation:
Although they prefer the warmer, frost-free, summer rainfall regions of South Africa, if they are sited in a sheltered spot in the garden these plants are quite hardy to frost and cold temperatures. They also do well in the winter rainfall regions of the country as long as they can be watered during the dry months.
Excellent garden species include:
Barleria obtusa. Picture courtesy Alexey Yakovlev from flickrBush Violet, Barleria, Bosviooltjie, Idololenkonyane (Barleria obtusa)
Barleria obtusa is a small, spreading, evergreen shrub that is fast growing. The size of the plant varies depending on the environment in which it is growing. Out in the open in plenty of sunshine it forms a low, bushy plant, about 1m in height, and in more sheltered and shady spots it produces longer sprawling branches which can reach a height of 2m. In late summer and autumn (April to May) it puts on a show with its masses of tubular, mauve-blue flowers. There are also lovely pink and white forms available. The flowers are followed by seed capsules that become hard and woody as they mature, and then suddenly explode, dispersing their seeds far and wide.
This barleria thrives in the summer rainfall regions, and can be found growing wild from the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North West, and Limpopo. It also occurs in Zimbabwe. It favours rocky koppies, thickets, bushveld and grassland areas, as well as the margins of forests.
Although Barleria obtusa is a summer rainfall plant, it thrives in the winter rainfall regions of the country, as long as the soil has good drainage and the plant can be watered in summer. It will grow in full sun or light shade, is fairly drought resistant, and will take moderate frost, but in colder regions it will need protection in winter. It adapts to most fertile garden soils with good drainage, but prefers a light, well-drained soil that is enriched with plenty of compost. Regular feeding with organic fertilisers for flowering plants every 6 to 8 weeks during the growing season will keep the plants looking at their best and promote spectacular flowering.
If it can be pruned regularly Barleria obtusa makes an excellent groundcover or low shrub for coastal gardens. It is magnificent spilling over pots or hanging baskets, or cascading over low retaining walls or steps, where its masses of flowers and lovely green leaves can be admired. It is a valuable butterfly host plant, and the flowers attract insects, which in turn become food for insect-eating birds such as bulbuls, orioles, bush shrikes, thrushes and boubou shrikes. On farms and reserves it is heavily browsed by game and stock.
Barleria repens 'Purple Prince'Small Bush Violet, Kleinbosviooltjie, Inzinziniba (Barleria repens)
This charming evergreen is found growing in forests and woodlands from KwaZulu-Natal all the way into tropical Africa, and is called the small bush violet because it is more compact than Barleria obtusa. If it is pruned in the garden it usually only reaches a height of around 70cm, but in the wild it is known for its scrambling habit and willingness to clamour up any support, like surrounding plants, and if left to sprawl, or climb up a tree, it will get much larger, up to 2m.
Its soft, shiny, dark green leaves are a lovely foil for the masses of fairly large tubular flowers which can be a deep mauve-purple, flame red or bright pink-red, and although some flowers are produced intermittently throughout the year, its peak flowering season is in late summer and early autumn (February to April). The flowers are followed by club-shaped fruits anytime between March and May.
In Latin, the name “repens” means 'creeping and rooting', in reference to the plants habit of sprawling on the ground and rooting effortlessly - any branch that lies on the soil will take root. Therefore this plant needs to be monitored in the garden, and especially in small gardens, where perhaps a better option would be to contain it by planting it into pots or hanging baskets. If it can be pruned regularly Barleria repens makes an excellent groundcover or low shrub for coastal gardens. It’s quite spectacular if allowed to cascade over pots or low retaining walls or steps, where its masses of flowers and lovely green leaves can be admired.
Barleria repens 'Rosea' Picture courtesy Forest and Kim Starr from flickrIf the plant receives sufficient water, it is very fast growing, and it absolutely thrives in the moist, warm, coastal, and frost-free areas of South Africa. However, it can handle temperatures ranging from about -2°C to 36°C, and is hardy to moderate frost if sited in a warm, protected position in the garden. It loves full sun to light shade, but in too much shade it will not flower as profusely and will become lanky and untidy. It adapts to most fertile garden soils with good drainage, but prefers a light, well-drained soil that is enriched with plenty of compost. Regular feeding with organic fertilisers for flowering plants every 6 to 8 weeks during the growing season will keep the plants looking at their best and promote spectacular flowering. Prune the plant back hard after flowering.
Barleria repens 'Purple Prince' grows abundantly in KwaZulu-Natal and is more compact than Barleria obtusa, making it an excellent ground cover or low shrub that can easily be pruned to form a low hedge. It has shiny, dark-green leaves and produces an abundance of royal purple flowers in late summer and autumn.
Barleria repens 'Rosea’ grows in KwaZulu-Natal and has a slower more compact growth rate than the others, with lovely dark green, glossy leaves, and gorgeous coral-red flowers intermittently throughout the year. It forms a rounded to spreading, bushy shrub that can reach 70cm to 1m tall but sometimes climbs into nearby trees.
Barleria repens ' Pink' grows prolifically in KwaZulu-Natal and is common in dune forests. It is more compact than Barleria obtusa and has a rounded, bushy form, with a height of 50cm and a spread of up to 1m. Its glossy, dark green leaves are a perfect foil for the fairly large lipstick-pink flowers which appear from late summer to autumn. It can be pruned to form a lovely small hedge, and is beautiful planted at the base of small trees or in amongst smaller grasses for a more natural look. It also makes a wonderful container plant.
Barleria repens 'Tickled Pink' is an exceptional cultivar with large magenta flowers. It is excellent to plant in large areas and banks as a fast spreading groundcover that grows about 70cm tall. It is lovely in containers and easily pruned into a low hedge.
Barleria albostellata. Picture courtesy Bernard DUPONT from flickrGrysbarleria, Grey Barleria (Barleria albostellata)
This barleria becomes a fairly large shrub that can reach 1.5m tall, with velvety grey leaves, and beautiful snow-white tubular flowers with purple tinged bracts, that appear sporadically anytime from September to May. Although it favours the moist, subtropical forests of South Africa where it loves growing in semi-shade, it can grow in full sun, and adapts to cooler, drier conditions, and will even tolerate light frost if it is sited in a sheltered spot in the garden. Under tropical and subtropical conditions it is evergreen, but in colder areas it can become deciduous to semi-deciduous.
Its velvety grey leaves create a wonderful colour contrast in the garden, and together with its lovely flowers, makes this a very attractive shrub. Barleria albostellata is pollinated by insects and attracts various species of butterflies, as well as carpenter bees. The insects, in turn, attract insectivorous birds, making it a good choice for attracting wildlife to the garden.
Spiny Yellow Barleria, Thorny Bush Violet, Yellow Barleria, Geelbarleria (Barleria rotundifolia)
Click here to see Google images of Barleria rotundifiolia
This fast growing barleria grows wild in the Lowveld occurring in well-drained soils on koppies and hillsides in full sun to semi-shade. It is most noticeable when its attractive butter-yellow flowers appear, anytime from December to late summer. It also carries spines to protect itself from being over-grazed by animals, and these spines make it a good barrier plant for the garden.
Barleria rotundifolia is available from some indigenous nurseries, and is well worth looking for. It can be propagated by cuttings and seeds germinate easily. The seed capsules should be collected as soon as they turn brown. Don't wait too long otherwise they explode and disperse far and wide.
The plant requires full sun to semi-shade and should be planted in sandy to loamy soil. It is semi-frost-resistant and can therefore withstand a certain amount of cold weather, especially if planted in a protected spot in the garden. The spiny yellow barleria is drought hardy once established, but a moderate amount of watering in the garden will keep it looking at its best. Pruning after flowering will also keep it nice and neat.
Barleria rotundifolia is pollinated by insects and attracts various birds and butterfly species, making it perfect for wildlife gardens. It looks best when planted in groups and is easily incorporated into rockeries and flowerbeds, or in the semi-shade underneath trees. It can be grown in large pots, provided they receive regular watering and feeding.
Barleria greeniiBarleria greenii
Barleria greenii is available from certain nurseries and is well worth looking for as it is assessed as Criticially Endangered (CR) according to the Red List of South African Plants and faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. It is endemic to a small area in the Estcourt region of KwaZulu-Natal, and was only recently discovered by Dave Green, a farmer and amateur botanist from the Estcourt district in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, and in 1984 it was named “greenii” after him.
Barleria greenii is restricted to heavy, black clay soils on doleritic rock. It can be found in open rocky areas and is most abundant in moist areas along drainage lines or streams. Although it is still quite common where it occurs, it is regarded as rare due to its highly restricted distribution and specific habitat requirements, and wild populations are declining because their habitat is being degraded and damaged by human encroachment. The plants also have to contend with veld fires, which young plants do not survive, but older plants can survive and re-sprout afterwards. Plants that are burned frequently are well-branched and rarely grow more than 1m in height, but if wild fires are less frequent, they are robust and woody, and can reach almost 2 m in height.
This barleria is quite spectacular, and because it is deciduous and loses all its leaves in winter, it is a very frost hardy shrub. It is bushy reaching up to 1.5m in height and the leaves have small hooks at the tips. Anytime from mid to late summer it produces masses of large, pink to white petunia-like flowers. The flowers emit a strong, sweet fragrance at night, and produce copious quantities of nectar which attracts bumblebees and many other insects, and because hawk moths have been observed feeding from the flowers at night, they are believed to be the main pollinators. When ripe, the seed pods explode, expelling the seeds over relatively short distances from the parent plant, resulting in dense but localised populations.
Barleria greenii makes a beautiful garden subject as it flowers so prolifically. It also grows under a wide range of conditions and is frost hardy. Plants are easily propagated by tip cuttings or from seeds, and once established, should flower within 18 months. Pruning back in late winter or early spring will encourage prolific flowering and dense, bushy growth. In the winter rainfall regions of the country it requires watering during the dry summer months.