All barberries make excellent hedge plants because of their uniform growth rate, and they make excellent barrier plants because of the thorny nature of their stems. They can be used for massing, shrub borders and as foundation plants. Japanese barberry is often used to hold and furnish slopes and banks. They are tolerant of most soil types and withstand dry conditions. They tolerate urban conditions better than many shrubs.
Barberries transplant easily and withstand pruning well.
This is best done immediately after flowering or in later winter. Except with formal hedges that need shearing one or more times a year, pruning should be kept to a minimum. Shrubs that become overgrown may be revitalized by cutting them back very severely, even to within a foot or so of the ground, in late winter. Fertilize the shrubs in spring. Normally, barberries are not seriously affected by diseases and insects.