Elaeagnus × ebbingei
Ebbinge's silverberry
Common names: Ebbing's silverberry, Evergreen oleaster, Wintergreen oleaster
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −18 °C
- Pruning
- Mar–Apr
- Flowering
- Oct–Nov
- Spacing
- 120 cm, rows 120 cm
- Water need
- Low
Photo: K. Thomas · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Elaeagnus × ebbingei is a dense, evergreen large shrub that grows 3 to 4 m tall and nearly as wide. Its leathery leaves are dark green and glossy on the upper side and covered with silvery scales underneath, so the hedge shimmers brightly in the wind. In October and November, when little else is flowering in the garden, small cream-white, bell-shaped flowers open with a strong fragrance that attracts bees, hoverflies, and other late-season insects. The shrub is a hybrid of two East Asian oleasters and tolerates wind, drought, urban air, and lime. It is planted as a sturdy hedge, as a windbreak or screen, or as a specimen plant that does not become bare in winter. Bacteria in its root nodules fix nitrogen from the air, allowing it to grow quickly even on poor soils.
Care instructions
Plant in spring or autumn in a sunny to partly shaded spot, as sun produces denser growth and more abundant flowering. For a hedge, space plants about 1 to 1.5 m apart; for a specimen plant, allow 2 to 3 m. Water regularly in the first year, after which it copes well with drought. It does not tolerate waterlogged soil, which is the most common cause of plant losses. Trim the shape in spring and lightly trim hedges again in June, then leave it alone, as otherwise it will lack autumn flowers. Allow sufficient space: at 3 to 4 m wide, it should not be planted directly against a house wall or next to a narrow garden path. In windy locations, protect young plants during their first winter with fleece.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringOct–Nov
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, humus-rich, loamy, sandy
Ebbinge's silverberry is undemanding about soil. It grows in loamy, sandy or humus-rich soil, from slightly acidic to chalky, and also copes with lean soils. The only important thing is a free-draining base; it won't tolerate waterlogging. On very heavy soils, mix in sand or gravel when planting.
Feeding
Light feeder
Silverberry manages almost without fertiliser. Bacteria live in small nodules on its roots and fix nitrogen from the air. In the bed, a thin layer of ripe compost or leaf mulch in spring is enough, and even that is only needed on very lean soil. In a container, give organic fertiliser once in spring. It needs nothing more.
Pruning
Silverberry tolerates any pruning and shoots again even from old wood. Shape it in March or April, once the hardest frosts are over, and trim hedges lightly once more in June. After that, don't cut again, or you will remove the flower buds for autumn. Do a hard rejuvenation prune in February. Check beforehand whether birds are nesting in the hedge.
Overwintering
Ebbinge's silverberry is hardy to about -18 °C and keeps its foliage. In very cold winters or on windy sites it can lose leaves or be cut back by frost at the shoot tips, but it usually shoots again in spring. Protect young plants in their first winter with a mulch layer of leaves, and in frost without snow cover with horticultural fleece. In a container, place the pot against a sheltered wall and wrap it.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- Layering
The best way to propagate Ebbinge's silverberry is by cuttings. From July to September, cut 10 to 15 cm long, semi-ripe shoot tips, remove the lower leaves and insert them in sandy seed compost. Kept bright, warm and evenly moist, they root slowly. Layering succeeds in spring: bend a flexible shoot down to the ground, cover it with soil and separate it after a year. Raising from seed isn't worthwhile, because the offspring of this hybrid turn out very variable.
For your garden
Grow Ebbinge's silverberry yourself
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