MARY sea buckthorn

Main characteristics

• Hardiness
• Estimated zone around 3a in nursery records. Therefore fairly hardy, well suited to cold winters.
• Adult size
• Approximately 3 to 5 meters in height for the female, with a width of approximately 2 meters.
• Fruit appearance
• Medium-sized berries, dark orange in color.
• Harvest period/maturity
• Harvest generally extends from mid-August to mid-September.
• Yield
• “Good sustained yields,” high productivity according to records.
• Thorns
• Few thorns, which makes harvesting easier.
• Use of fruit
• Ideal for processing: juice, oil, etc.

Advantages

• Relatively long harvest period, which allows flexibility in picking the berries.

• Good disease resistance according to sources. Adaptable to various soils, even relatively poor and well-drained soils. Also tolerates the presence of salt in some cases.

• Low thorniness, which is a huge plus for handling and harvesting.

Limitations or points to watch out for

• The fact that it is a dioecious plant means that you will need to purchase a male plant to pollinate the females. Without a male, there will be no fruit.

• Production begins after a few years: the female plant will not bear fruit immediately (often after 2-3 years), and maximum yield is reached later.

• The size of the plant (3-5 m) requires a certain amount of space. If you don't mow or prune it, it can become quite an imposing bush.

• Even though it has few thorns, there are still some; harvesting can be less pleasant if you choose a location that is difficult to access.