There are no thorns and the spikiness you see is the growth habit. Not prickly at all

Then I am wrong re its ID as this shrub had thorns...I touched it.

Yup as I had written in the post just before yours I definitely have the wrong ID. (This specimen is too large as well.)

Golden Barberry is my guess. Friend has one.

Sure does look like a GB. I was impressed.

That is striking! Beautiful. I’d like to have some of these.

I love bright gold/lime/etc shrubs. I planted several ‘Twist of Lime’ abelias last year, and four ‘Lemon Lime’ nandinas this year. ETA: Forgot my favs — ‘Sunshine’ ligustrum. Planted this year (first time to have them) and they’re looking great.

Thanks for sharing! (That bench is so pretty, too.)

It would benefit from a "haircut" but it is eye catching.

They are tick magnets i hear.

next!

http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/japanese-barberry-a-threat-to-public-health.html

the roundish leaves scream barberry ... and do i need to say.. the gold one... lol ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=golden+barberry&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Barberry.

Yes, a barberry

Already looks hedgy, as though having been sheared for years. Instead of continued barberry barbering the solution to it exceeding the space is moving it elsewhere, when it is not in leaf. To a spot where it will have enough room to retain its natural size and structure.

There's a local business that has a few of these in a raised bed grouping, and they are very, very eyecatching. I will continue to appreciate them in other peoples gardens, because I will never again own any barberry bushes, too painful!

"I will never again own any barberry bushes, too painful!"

They are if you fall or roll in them!! But there are dwarf options available that will add that intense coloring without any need for pruning :-) Look for Gold Nugget, Golden Jackpot or Sunjoy Gold Beret. And dwarf forms tend not to flower or seed as heavily as full sized plants so far less of an environmental issue.

IME, there are few shrubs that can add the intensity of color in summer and fall than Japanese barberries. and they are no more painful to maintain than roses, blackberries or other thorny plants. I would never be without them!!

But not always suitable in all areas of the country - check with your invasive plant authority first.

“I would never be without them!!”

Ditto!!

Orange-tinted Berberis thunbergii Lois ('Orange Rocket') and B. thunbergii 'Admiration' are particularly colorful. And something different from all the somber purple kinds and all the bleached- or metallic-looking yellow ones.

gardengal, I just looked those up, thanks for sharing them! I have a couple of spots I could use them in (I really like the Sunjoy).

would You think about researching whether it is on the invasives list in your state? maybe the common purple /red ones are the culprits but it can’t hurt to know.

I should have realized it wasn’t a spirea at all! But there gold spirea that rival that gorgeous lime.

A word of warning that barberry can be an invasive pest, including the upper midwest. It’s not the problem buckthorn and burning bush are, but it has shown a definite tendency to spread. Am I an old-fashioned curmudgeon to care about such things? ;)

Barberry/Berberis is a serious issue here and spreading in my woodlands in New England from the organic farm next door that uses no invasive controls. It is also an aesthetic issue as far as catching debris such as blowing leaves and trash that then need removal on a regular basis IME. And if pruned, all cut plant matter needs removal because stepping on barberry/Berberis branches can be painful.

Alternatives include several gold Spiraeas. My favorite of them is Ogon which also has nice fall color. There are also a number of substantial gold perennials, which would have the added advantage of not being a twiggy mass in winter:

Leucosceptrum Golden Angel is about 3’ in my garden

Aralia Sun King is a large shrublike perennial which can reach 6’ when happy.

I always check my state’s database before planting unknowns-to-me ... I’m not seeing it listed, but will check with my local nursery, too. They will not sell anything invasive, and deal almost exclusively in natives.

ETA: Thanks, NHBabs, for those suggestions, too. I’m getting lots of ideas on this thread. :)

maakia "conscientious" is the word. In the past, sometimes, criticism about using berberis would start a small vocal chorus of howls from folks who "never found a seedling in 20 years"

Glad that Jinx you always check because some folks dont. Even worse, there are nurseries who should know better that are happy to sell what people will buy.

Invasiveness is very regionally dependent as well, typically associated with divergent climate issues. What may be a listed invasive in one area may be perfectly well behaved in another, simlply because of differing climates. And often, a plant that can naturalize readily and escape cultivation should avoid being planted even though it is not officially included on the local invasive species listing. An example of this is Pyrus calleryana, the dreaded Bradford pear, which, obscurely, shows up officially on very few state listings.

Sambucus racemosa 'Lemony Lace' is a beautiful shrub in that same color range, and it's native.

Agree, they are known tick havens. You want to avoid barberries.

Except.......in those areas where a) the plants are not invasive or b) ticks not an issue. Neither is a universal or countrywide problem.

Gardengal, ticks are everywhere now, and Lyme disease is everywhere, too, even in Canada and the Pacific northwest. If you do a search, make sure it's from 2019, as data is rapidly changing.

Yes, ticks can be everywhere. But they are NOT present in the Pacific Northwest like they are in other parts of the country. And Lyme disease here is extremely rare. Very few cases have ever been reported and most of those that have been confirmed in local residents that received tick bites while visting eastern and midwestern states where both ticks and the disease are far more common.

The very remote possibility that a barberry here would harbor a tick would not dissuade me from planting them. It is just a non-issue!! YMMV