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True Root Nursery

Autumn Olive

Autumn Olive

Species: Elaeagnus umbellata

History: Autumn Olive (aka Japanese Silverberry) is native to parts of Asia and was introduced to the US as an ornamental plant, erosion control, and wildlife habitat in the early 1800s. Its nitrogen-fixing properties and prolific seed production has caused it to become an invasive species in some parts of the US and Canada, so caution is recommended when planting it so it doesn't spread. 

Why We Grow It: Despite its bad reputation, this shrub has many beneficial uses. The small red sweet/tart berries are good for fresh eating and making into jams and condiments while the nitrogen-fixing properties of the shrub make it a useful companion plant in orchards and agroforestry systems and for rebuilding the soil.  

Fruit Specs

Recommended Use: Fresh eating, jam

Fruit Size:

Storage: Keeps up to two weeks in the fridge

Harvest: September - Mid

Growing Specs

Canadian Hardiness Zone: 5

Soil Preference: Loam, adaptable to different soils

Flowering Time: Spring - Late

Bloom Colour: Pale yellowish-white

Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating, this shrub will produce fruit without a different Autumn Olive as a pollination partner but will produce more and better fruit if one is present

Sun/Shade Requirements:

Partial shade to full sun (approx. 6-10 hours of sun daily)

General Growth Habits:

Reaches 10-12ft tall on average, dense crown, thorns, flowers May to June, harvest mid to late September

Shipping vs. Pick Up

CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.

Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.

Size at Purchase

Our ungrafted fruit tree seedlings, nut tree seedlings, berries, and other miscellaneous plants are categorized into the following sizes excluding the roots:

  • 5-15cm
  • 15cm+
  • 30cm+
  • 60cm+
  • 90cm+

All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).

Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively. 

Why plant small? It's best to transplant when a plant is young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and bareroot plants tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted ones planted at the same time, after a few years.

Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.

Size
Regular price $15.00 CAD
Regular price Sale price $15.00 CAD
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