Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) vs American Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) vs American Black Currant

Hippophae rhamnoides l.

Ribes americanum

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Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry)
American Black 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: these plants typically reach maturity and make their sex easily known (females producing fruit) in their 3rd or 4th year of growth. Our seedlings are too young to identify their sex.

American Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub known for its clusters of small black berries that ripen in mid-to-late summer. The berries are edible and have long been used for fresh eating, preserves, and baking. They provide food for birds and mammals, and their fragrant spring flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

American Black Currant’s foliage serves as a host plant for butterfly species such as the Green Comma and Gray Comma, and its dense branching offers cover for wildlife. The shrub has traditionally been planted in shelterbelts, riparian buffers, and restoration projects.

Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) Quick Facts

American Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 2a
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to spreading, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: slender silvery-green leaves
Fall colour: gold to red
Flowers: small, yellowish bell-shaped, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: small, edible
Berries: black, edible
Flavor: tart, variable
Harvest: mid to late summer
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)
Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB
Other Names: sallowthorn, sandthorn, seaberry
Other Names: eastern black currant, wild black currant