Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) seeds
$4.95 – $34.10
Family: Oleaster (Eleagnaceae)
Hardy to Zones 3 to 8
(Seaberry, Sha-ji, Sand Thorn) Dioecious, spiny shrub to small tree. Dioecious means having the male and female reproductive organs borne on separate individuals. We do suggest to plant in groups of three to help assure that both male and female plants will be present. Native to temperate Europe and Asia. All zones. The tree, even when young and bush-like, is excellent in hedgerows and shelterbelts. The fruit juice is loaded with vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants; improves immune response. Oil of seeds is an effective sunblock. Scarify seeds by rubbing vigorously on sandpaper. Germination may be enhanced by scarifying, then sowing in cool temps of fall or early spring–we registered rampant germination in 34 days using this technique. Otherwise give 30 to 60 days of cold, moist refrigeration (put seeds in moist medium in plastic bag and refrigerate, do not freeze), then sow in warm, sandy soil. Germination is in 3 weeks or so–a dependable and fun germinator. Space 10 or more feet apart. Grows to 20 feet tall.
20 seeds per packet
1 g contains ~90 seeds
5 g contains ~450 seeds
10 g contains ~900 seeds
Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s
Further notes on germination of Sea Buckthorn seeds. In the spring of 2024 I decided to test the germination without prechill. It was the 14th of the month, about 2 weeks prior to full moon, which is a time I like to plant seeds for fast germination, as the full moon tends to bring them up. I scarified the seeds vigorously on sandpaper, then examined them microscopically. The seedcoat was not scratched through but a waxy cuticle that surrounds the seeds was worn off in patches. The seeds were then soaked overnight in room temperature water, the following morning poured off through a tea strainer and planted. The seeds were swollen, The flat was left in the warm greenhouse (55 degrees F at night and 80 degrees F in the daytime). Rampant germination occurred in 6 days, just prior to the full moon. Honestly, the seeds do fine with a cold conditioning period or no cold conditioning. Richo
Question
Kay –
Greetings Richo,
Could I infused my dried sea buckthorn berries and leaves in a carrier oil and capture the benefits of the berries’ oils this way?
Thank you so much for all the opportunities you provide in cultivating such a variety of seeds for us!
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Richo Cech –
Hi Kay, the oil in the seeds is oil soluble and useful. The dried berries should be ground up thoroughly before extraction, One way to do this without creating a sticky mess is to freeze the berries overnight and grind them still frozen in the blender in the morning. rich0
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Question
Dan Donley –
Can You keep them pruned down to 15′ in height for harvest? A hedge of them would be nice, I suppose you could let the rest go to the birds to eat.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Dan, Prune in the autumn to remove dead wood and to shape. They never get that tall in my gardens. richo
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fawnnoelle –
Richo,
Would it work to put seeds in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks then plant. We are in zone 6b so it’s ranging from low 40’s to 50’s at night, not sure if that would be cold enough for seeds to sprout. Thank you, Noelle
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Richo Cech –
hello fawn, refrigerator stratification can help. here, we just planted these outdoors this week. we scarified on sandstone and planted in cool shade. good germination is typical of this lot of this species, please go for it. r
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Question
Floyd –
Would this plant be sturdy enough to plant as a hedge for excluding animals such as deer and dogs? What initial spacing? Thanks
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Richo Cech –
Hi Floyd,
I do think this would be workable. They are quite upright and spiny. In a case like this, one would plant 4 feet apart, more or less.
Richo
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Joseph –
How do I find out those seed are males or females? Do I need to indicate that I need female seed and male seed? Please advise. Thanks
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Richo Cech –
hi joseph, this is the same conundrum one runs into with growing any dioecious plant from seeds. you can’t sex them until they make flowers. meanwhile grow at least 3 to make sure you have a representative of each sex. they’re going to pan out about 50/50 male/female. r
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Question
Scot –
I read somewhere that Sea Buckthorn is a very beneficial shrub to interplant in a permaculture food forest. Is it a natural pest repellent or is there something else it does? I can’t find the source I had seen/read previously. Thanks!
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Richo Cech –
Hi Scot, Thanks for staying in touch. I do think it would make sense to grow some sea buckthorn in a food forest. Frankly there is nothing about it that is really fantastic about it except for the oil of the seeds, which is difficult for most of us to extract. The seed oil is one of the better herbal sunscreens and is really a high-end salve making ingredient for us herbalists. Beyond that, sea buckthorn are a reasonable helper in the shelterbelt (you don’t have to be close to the sea to grow it)–dioecious, thorny, a good refuge for songbirds, vit c rich beverage if you can sweeeten it somehow, fairly prolific in the fruit production department, source of nectar during very early spring when it is needed by bees, etc. I plant it and encourage others to do so. Richo
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Shnate –
I believe that it has popularity in the permaculture world because of the things mentioned above, as well as its ability to fix nitrogen and quick growing habit
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tuffy –
Yes
It’s ability to fix nitrogen without being a legume, is very beneficial. And when added to its evergreen nature, thorny security feature, hardiness, medicinal edible seeds, and browsable forage by livestock, this ends up being a multi-stacking highly functional shrub/tree in a Permaculture garden or forest.
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Blain Searle –
How is the hedge doing?
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Richo Cech –
great!
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Blain Searle –
Awesome, I just planted my first one today and I have four more on order. Got to beat the ban Maine is instating on them in 2024. This state is very authoritive…
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