In reply to "laceyvail" suggestion that perhaps my Cotinus var. 'Golden Spirit' is affected with verticillium wilt.... the affected leaves do not appear to be wilting but rather crisped/dehydrated/scorched about the edges eventially drying completely on the stem of the plant. This crisping of the leaves occurs from the top down along the entire stem of the plant looking so unsightly that I chose to remove the dried leaves by physically stripping the leaf petiole from the stem of the shrub. Further Internet checking confirms a susceptibility of this plant to Verticillium Wilt...... especially if grown in fertile soil. I will cut a stem of the plant and look for further evidence that VW is indeed the problem but I am not optimistic given the seriousness of the disease and the Cotinus's vulnerability.

I don't remember ever seeing anything quite like that, and I don't have room to grow raspberries!, but I have a suggestion!!! It doesn't really look like bugs to me, but on the slight chance that it is, try my Magic Cure All! Mix some Palmolive green dishwashing soap in water and thoroughly spray the whole thing--either on a cloudy day (not likely!) or late in the day when the sun is no longer hitting them. I recommend a pressure sprayer so you can really soak everything, including the back sides of the leaves, and I usually spray the soil around the base of the plants too. If you want to you can wait an hour or so and then "forcefully" wash the plant off with plain water to "wash off" anything that might be left, or if you do it late in the day you don't even really need to do that. I really don't think it's bugs, but no harm in trying! If you're watering deeply twice a week they could possibly be getting too much water, but that doesn't look like overwatering to me since the overall plant looks healthy! And I think raspberries can take a lot of water--raspberry growers correct me if I'm wrong about that! It almost looks like some sort of sun scorch to me, but sunburn usually turns leaves white, not dark, and if it were it would be a one-time thing and not progressive like you seem to be describing! Any chance an herbicide (or something else) might have blown onto them from a neighbor? If the bath doesn't seem to help at all you might want to cut off a cane or two and take them in to a "real" garden center and ask if they can help diagnose the problem. ("Real" garden center doesn't include places like the big box stores. Kelly at Timberline could probably help but it doesn't sound like you're anywhere near there. Possibly City Floral?) In Thornton we can only water twice a week this year too, but that only applies to turf up here. Perennials/annuals, veggies and things like small fruit can be watered as needed--assuming your not wasting water. You might want to check the Denver restrictions online to see if that's true for you too. Welcome to RMG, Skybird

I like your idea of planting a mixed shrub and perennial border and that you are looking at ornamental foliage that will contribute to a long season of interest. I do the same thing myself, and find it much easier care for as well as providing structure and interest in winter. However, to my mind the cons on barberries outweigh the pluses, having grown up with them in the yard (a bit east of you on the east side of Cleveland.) The thorny branches catch blowing leaves and trash which the prickers make difficult to remove comfortably, and I don't find them particularly attractive for the 5 months of the year that they don't have leaves, unlike many other plants that add interest in the winter. While Golden Ruby is supposed to have fewer fruits than many other types of Japanese barberry, it still is supposed to have some, and so will contribute to the whole invasives problem in OH. I also have stopped planting low-growing reddish leafed plants, though I still grow taller ones, because I find that the low red foliage blends into the background of mulch or dirt. Taller red-leafed plants don't have that issue and shorter green, silver or gold plants don't have that problem either. If you ask for suggestions along with what requirements you have, what the light and soil are like, and a photo of the area, you may find that you get a range of suggestions of wonderful plants from which to choose.

This Scientific American article is one of many linking the invasion of Japanese Barberry with the increased incidence of Lyme Disease. The prevalence of ticks infected with the Lyme Disease spirochete (Borrelia burdorferi) is greater in areas with Japanese Barberry than areas without. One of the ongoing limitations of forums such as this one is that there is nothing "local" about it. Posters have a tendency to never look beyond the end of their nose. In this thread for instance the OP is from NJ, I am from MD, the enthusiastic advocates for a weed like Japanese Barberry are from the West Coast. A few years ago we had the same issue with cultural practices advocated from an obscure extension office in Washington state, an assumption was made that they applied to the whole country which of course is absurd. It is the main reason why I never respond to a thread where the OP is from PNW or West Coast, I know nothing about that part of the country. Gas stations and convenience stores will always use cheap, mass-produced garbage like J.B. I am encouraging posters here to increase their palette of shrub selections and move beyond J.B., a noxious, introduced weed.