PDA Outlines Enforcement Process for Barberry Ban and Sterile Cultivar Exceptions

Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) has released its process for implementing enforcement of the ban on growing and selling barberry (Berberis thunbergii) in Pennsylvania. When the ban was approved by the Department’s Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee (CPNWC) July 15, the Committee also recommended a two-year enforcement deferral to give the industry time to adjust.

According to PDA, the enforcement deferral will follow the following process:

• Fall 2021 - Letter of information to plant merchants, to let them know Japanese barberry is on the noxious weed list and to advise that they begin immediately to adjust propagation and ordering of Japanese barberry to decrease their inventory. It will also mention that a process for allowing sterile varieties to be sold is under development.
• Fall 2022 - Letter of warning would be issued to any plant merchant selling Japanese barberry, providing a date in Fall 2023 after which any remaining inventory would be subject to a destruction order.  
• Fall 2023 - Stop Sale/Destruction orders issued to plant merchants selling or distributing Japanese barberry.

Shipping Barberry into Pennsylvania Illegal after October 6, 2021

The ban also makes shipping barberry into Pennsylvania illegal as of the effective date of the CPNWC action, according to PDA deputy secretary Fred Strathmeyer. The ban became effective sixty days after publication of the CPNWC action in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on August 7, 2021, or October 6, 2021.

Exceptions for Sterile Cultivars

The CPNWC also recommended to PDA that exceptions be granted to the ban for barberry cultivars that have been proven to produce sterile seeds. PDA has published a petition form that growers may submit to PDA for this consideration. That form may be downloaded by clicking here.

More information on the barberry ban can be found on the PDA website by clicking here.

The next meeting of the CPNWC is this coming Wednesday November 17, 2021 at 11:00 am. If you have questions on the barberry ban or comments on the pending ban on Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) you can attend the meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams or phone by clicking on the links below:

Microsoft Teams meeting of the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+1 267-332-8737,,629062574# United States, Philadelphia