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Trees

Hippophae salicifolia

willow-leaved sea buckthorn

A medium-sized thorny tree to 15m, which fixes nitrogen in its roots, making it good for poor soils. Its deciduous leaves are narrow and silver green, turning pale yellow in autumn. It has inconspicuous flowers in spring which, if a male plant is also planted, become orange berries in autumn

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Ultimate height

Higher than 12 metres

Time to ultimate height

10–20 years

Ultimate spread

4–8 metres

Chalk

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained, Well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

East–facing or North–facing or South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Exposed

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Elaeagnaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Columnar upright, Spreading branched
Genus: Hippophae are deciduous shrubs or small trees, with narrow, silvery leaves and inconspicuous flowers followed on female plants by orange fruits; both male and female plants must be grown for a good crop of berries
Name status: Correct
Plant range: Himalaya

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in moisture retentive to moist soil, in full sun. For more information see our advice on tree cultivation

Propagation

Propagate from semi-ripe cutting in late summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Architectural

Pruning

Pruning group 1

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus in gardens where it is present but insufficient data to determine degree of susceptibility

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