Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea)

Description & origin

• A thorny deciduous shrub native to central-western North America—the Canadian Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and parts of the United States.
• Mature height: approximately 2 to 6 meters, often around 3-4 meters.
• Bushy, branched habit, often forming thickets, with thorny branches.

Foliage & flowering

• Oval leaves, covered with small hairs (pubescent), giving them a silvery/green-gray appearance. They are more silvery underneath than on top.
• Flowers: small, greenish-yellow or pale yellow, inconspicuous.
• Flowering in spring (April-May depending on the region).

Fruits

• Red (or red-orange) fruits, small drupes, edible but bitter/sour to the taste. Some compare the taste to “bitter + tart.”
• Sometimes improve after a frost or a cool fall.
• Important: the shrub is dioecious, meaning that both male and female plants are needed for the female plants to produce fruit.

Growing conditions & tolerances

• Exposure: Full sun preferred, but can tolerate some light shade.
• Soil: Very tolerant. Tolerates poor, dry, sandy, or gravelly soils; tolerant of alkaline soil. Requires good drainage.
• Climate tolerances: very cold hardy (zones 2-3 according to USDA or Canadian regions), tolerates drought, saline soils/deicing salts, and sea spray.
• Growth: average. May form thickets by regrowth from the stump or root suckers in some cases.

Uses & interest

• Landscaping: used in free hedges, defensive hedges (thorns useful for deterrence), in beds, natural borders, or along waterways. Its silvery foliage is very decorative. 
• Wildlife/biodiversity: birds love the fruit, and the bush provides shelter and cover. The flowers, although inconspicuous, are useful to pollinators in early spring.
• Hardiness/difficult environments: useful for stabilizing soil, for dry, saline, or poor soils where other plants struggle. Can be used in windbreaks or for revegetation projects.
• Culinary/wild: the fruits can be used in jams, jellies, etc., but this plant is not grown primarily for its fruit flavor—rather for its aesthetics, biodiversity, or hardiness.

Disadvantages or points to consider

• Fruit taste: bitter/sour—so not always appreciated fresh without preparation.
• Requires a male plant near a female plant to produce fruit. If you only have females or males, you will not get any fruit.
• Thorny branches: can be a nuisance depending on the location (near paths, fences, walkways).
• Formation of thickets/suckers: if the soil or site is favorable, it can become dense, sometimes too “wild” if not maintained.