Very narrow, grey-green leaves drop in autumn to leave the branches studded with red-orange berries that hold on through winter, edible and pleasantly tangy. Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) also binds soil on unstable slopes and shrugs off sea spray. It is dioecious, so plant one male for every five or six females if you want fruit.
| Latin name | Hippophae rhamnoides |
|---|---|
| Family | Elaeagnaceae |
| Type | shrubby tree |
| Foliage | deciduous |
| Height | 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 m) |
| Exposure | sunny |
| Soil | light, well-drained, neutral to alkaline pH |
| Hardiness | hardy |
| Blooming | spring |
| Fruiting | fall, winter |
Hippophae rhamnoides is a dioecious species, meaning there are male and female plants. To get fruits, it’s a good idea to plant one male for every 5 or 6 females.
Sea buckthorn foliage is very narrow with a grey-green color.
Fruit shows up in early fall and its red-orange color pops even more when leaves fall. These berries are edible, with a sweet and lovely tangy flavor.
It’s often confused with firethorn due to similar phonetics and appearance, but they are indeed different shrubs.
→ Caution: Italian buckthorn, an unrelated shrub that unfortunately goes by a similar name, has toxic berries.
Two other shrubs are regularly mistaken for sea buckthorn, and one of them carries berries you must not eat. Check which shrub you actually have before picking anything.
| Shrub | Why it gets confused | Berries |
|---|---|---|
| Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) | The genuine article, thorny with red-orange fruit | Edible, sweet and tangy |
| Firethorn | Similar-sounding name and similar look | A different shrub entirely |
| Italian buckthorn | Shares a similar name but is unrelated | Toxic — do not eat |
When in doubt, the edible berries belong only to Hippophae rhamnoides.
Because the shrub is dioecious, choosing a variety means choosing a sex as well as a berry: a single male will pollinate a group of five or six females. The table below sets out the named forms most often offered by nurseries and mail-order catalogues.
| Variety | Male or female | Berries | Ripening | Habit and use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leikora | Female | Large, deep orange, heavy crop | Mid to late autumn | Vigorous, the standard fruiting form |
| Pollmix | Male | None | Flowers in spring | Upright, reliable pollinator for Leikora |
| Hergo | Female | Orange-red, firm | Mid autumn | Sturdy, holds fruit well on the branch |
| Askola | Female | Orange, juicy | Early to mid autumn | Vigorous and upright |
| Frugana | Female | Orange, loosely held | Early autumn | Easier picking, spreading habit |
Sea buckthorn, or argousier as we say in French, thrives in all soil types, as long as it’s lightweight and draining. If possible, place it in full sunlight year-round, but it’ll tolerate some shade.
For a fruitful harvest, plant one male for every 5 or 6 females. You’ll thank us later.
Drought-resistant and vigorous, sea buckthorn doesn’t mind whether you plant it in spring or autumn.
No need for extra pampering here. Only prune your sea buckthorn when you feel like it:
Create new sea buckthorn plants by layering, cutting (softwood in late summer or hardwood in winter) or sowing.
Impressively hardy, Hippophae rhamnoides gives pests the cold shoulder and shows no sign of disease.
With its ground-covering root system, sea buckthorn makes it its duty to hold together soil on unstable slopes. Salt and sea spray? No problem, which makes it a superstar for jazzing up a coastal garden.
Want to fully enjoy those bright red-orange fruits in winter? Pair your sea buckthorn with trees or shrubs boasting bright decorative wood, like a colorful bark dogwood (example: Cornus sericea), or yellow wood white willow (Salix alba).
Typically, you’d harvest sea buckthorn berries around mid-autumn, preferably after the first frost. Picking them isn’t exactly a walk in the park due to the tree’s thorns. But shaking the branches over a ground cloth, will let you collect these tough-to-reach fruits with ease.
After the harvest, feel free to enjoy the berries raw, or try them with yogurt or cereal. They also keep well in juice, syrup, jam, or even frozen.
Sea buckthorn bears fruit on the previous season’s growth, so a cut branch carries no further crop, though the pruned plant regrows shoots that can fruit in later years.
