Worth knowing:
The Sea Buckthorn is used in the Tibetan medicine for more than 1.200 years, and in Europe it is known as a medicinal plant since the Middle Ages as well. With its spiked, red-brown branches, the slender silvery leaves and the bright orange-coloured fruits, the Hippophae rhamnoides is also a very attractive summer-green ornamental plant in every garden. It is rather slow-growing and can become a couple of meters tall, but is easily be pruned back to a reasonable height. After blossoming in April, the Sea Buckthorn produces orange-coloured, juicy fruits between August and December that grow in bunches directly on the branches. The fruits usually stay on the shrub throughout the winter and provide a valuable food source for birds.
Natural Location:
Originally, the Sea Buckthorn comes from Nepal, and is considered one of the rare plants that can grow on dunes.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you should initially keep the seeds in the refrigerator for about six weeks - then, place them overnight in a bowl with lukewarm water for priming. After that, spread the seeds onto moist potting compost, put just a little compost earth on top and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20°C and 25° Celsius and keep the earth moist, but not wet. After two to three weeks, the first seedlings will come up.
Place:
The Sea Buckthorn prefers sunny places that can even be windy.
Care:
The plant doesn’t require any special soil for cultivation. As a garden plant however, it might be a good idea to place a rhizome barrier in the earth.
During the winter:
Younger plants should hibernate indoors for the first year, preferably in a bright place with a temperature around 10° Celsius. After planting out next spring, a frost-protection won’t be necessary.
Picture credits:
- © © Beentree - GFDL - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Beentree - GFDL - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl
- © - -
- © - -
- © - -
- © - -
- © - -
