Landscaping Mississauga Gardens – shrubs for dry soil conditions

Larger shrubs like the Sea Buckthorn can be a very attractive addition to a low maintenance garden

Low maintenance shrubs – Sea Buckhorn

Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae), is a hardy deciduous shrub that will thrive in almost any soil conditions, own their name to the fact that they are one of the very few plants that are also salt-tolerant, and as such are being used to stabilize the soil on the seasides where nothing else would grow.

Little demanding sea buckhorn shrubs adorn the mountainous regions of China and Russia, and the Canadian prairies where they grow naturally. They will grow in both sandy, and clay soils. In fact they will thrive in nearly any soil type; however, sea buckhorn plant requires full sunlight and is extremely intolerant of shady conditions near larger trees.

The shrubs are also very resistant to frost injury, making them an excellent choice for planting in a location in your garden that is not suitable for other plants and where they can act as a shelter. They can withstand winter temperatures of up to -40 degrees Celsius (-43 degrees F). Because of these characteristics, sea buckhorn shrubs are commonly planted for soil and water conservation purposes. For that reason, sea buckthorn was once distributed free of charge to Canadian prairie farmers by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration to be used in shelter belts. Sea buckthorn is also a popular garden and landscaping shrub with an aggressive basal shoot system used for barrier hedges and windbreaks, and stabilize riverbanks and steep slopes.

Sea buckhorn also serves as an economic resource for food and medicine products. Legends date back to ancient Greece about its potency as an inside-out body healer that the mythical Pegasus was said to have eaten the berries of to gain the power to fly. Speculation exists, that point to Genghis Khan feeding his horse-driven army sea buckhorn in its incredibly successful conquest that, at its peak, conquered 16% of the Earth’s total land area. More recently, sea buckhorn was a sponsored drink at the Beijing Olympics and also is also used by Russian Cosmonauts for nutrition and radiation protection in space.

It is a fact that sea buckhorn oil contains ten times the amount of vitamin C than is found in oranges. It provides a natural and potent source of anti-oxidants that benefit our skin by protecting the cells and DNA structure against the damage caused by poor diet, environmental pollution and sun damage. It also boosts the production of collagen, improves skin texture & pigment distribution, as well as it acts as anti-inflammatory. Sea buckthorn berries are used for preventing infections, improving sight, and slowing the aging process. Some people apply sea buckthorn berries, berry concentrate, and berry or seed oil directly to the skin sunburn prevention, treating radiation damage from x-rays and healing wounds including bedsores, burns, and cuts.

The shrubs reach 0.5–4 metres tall, its branches are dense and stiff, and very thorny. The leaves are a distinct pale silvery-green, lanceolate, 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) long and less than 7 millimetres (0.28 in) broad. It propagates much like any other plant, with seeds or cuttings. Requires some pruning to keep under control. It’s best to prune it on a regular basis and train it in a manageable growth pattern for future harvesting.