Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 15, 2022 9:48:27 GMT -6
Sea Berry (Hippophae rhamnoides)
When I read this description, I immediately thought of our gardening members in Texas and some of the drier parts of Oklahoma.
Sea Berry Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Wet, Wet Mesic, Mesic, Dry Mesic, Dry
Plant Height: 6-20+ feet (2- 6+m)
Plant Spread: Usually wider than tall.. Males tend to be more upright and less spreading in habit than the females.
Leaves: Good fall color, Unusual foliage color, Evergreen
Fruit: Showy, Edible to birds
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer
Suitable Locations: (Xeriscapic) a landscape in a style which requires little or no irrigation.
As a verb, "I wanted to remove the grass along the sidewalk and xeriscape that area."
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge, Guardian plant, Culinary Herb, Medicinal Herb, Will Naturalize, Erosion control, Provides winter interest
Edible Parts: Fruit
Dynamic Accumulator: Nitrogen fixer
Wildlife Attractant: Birds, Butterflies, Bees
Resistances: Salt tolerant, Drought tolerant
Propagation: Seeds: Stratify seeds, Can handle transplanting, Other info
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem, Cuttings: Tip, Cuttings: Root, Layering, Stolons and runners, Offsets
Pollinators: Wind
Miscellaneous: With thorns/spines/prickles/teeth, Dioecious, Tolerates poor soil
We used to grow this at NSU, back in the 1980s. It was pruned and fastened to the bricks, by way of wires, and forced to act as a thin, decorative hedge along the West-facing brick wall of the University Center, where nothing else would grow because of the heat that collected in the bricks there. The bricks were a neutral, drab color, kind of a light brown, so the orange berries really helped the aesthetics in that location.
There are some cultivars of this plant with fewer, shorter thorns. This is a link to a video speaking of the pros and cons of this plant. (They are not for everyone) but they can serve a purpose if you have a less than hospitable location where you need a deer barrier, windbreak, or just need to cover a bare spot to lessen erosion.