Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) vs Alpine Currant - TreeTime.ca

Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) vs Alpine Currant

Hippophae rhamnoides l.

Ribes alpinum

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Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry)
Alpine Currant

Sea Buckthorn, aka Seaberry, is a nitrogen fixing shrub that produces attractive berries high in vitamin C.

While we can't confirm claims that the berries are effective in treating various ailments, many people believe consuming the berries helps with arthritis, infections, and asthma, among other things.

Sea Buckthorn plants have attractive pale silvery-green leaves, dense branches, and large thorns, people like to grow in ornamental hedges or as a first row in a shelterbelt.

Note: Sea Buckthorn is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate plants. Both are required for fruit production, though only female plants bear fruit. A plant’s sex typically cannot be identified until its third or fourth year. Our seedlings are too young to determine their sex.

Alpine Currant is a great shrub to plant along sidewalks, near building or at your property boundary as a hedge or accent species. It is widely used by commercial landscapers in parking lots and near buildings because of its hardiness, attractiveness, and pollution tolerance.

While Alpine Currant produces edible berries, they are not palatable.

Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) Quick Facts

Alpine Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 2a
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Suckering: high
Suckering: low


Foliage: slender silvery-green leaves
Foliage: glossy green
Flowers: greenish yellow and fragrant
Berries: small, edible
Berries: small, bright red
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no

In row spacing: 0.9 - 1.2 m (3 - 4 ft)

Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Other Names: sallowthorn, sandthorn, seaberry
Other Names: mountain currant