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

Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Hippophae rhamnoides l.

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry)

Ben Sarek Black Currant is a compact, high-yielding Black Currant cultivar, making it ideal for smaller gardens and easy berry picking. The large clusters of flavourful, sweet-tart berries ripen in mid-summer and are perfect for fresh eating, preserves, baked goods, and liqueurs. Plants may start producing some berries after two years, reaching full production in about four to five.

Developed by the Scottish Crop Research Institute, Ben Sarek Black Currant is resistant to powdery mildew and moderately resistant to white pine blister rust. It is self-fertile, meaning it does not require cross-pollination from another variety to produce fruit.

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.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Sea Buckthorn (Seaberry) Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2b
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Foliage: slender silvery-green leaves
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: black currants, edible
Berries: small, edible
Flavor: sweet-tart
Harvest: mid-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)
Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant
Other Names: sallowthorn, sandthorn, seaberry