Description
Seaberry is already one of the most vitamin C dense fruits anyone grows, and Orange Delight is reported to carry roughly double what most selections do. That is a grower’s figure rather than a laboratory one, and it is the reason this Siberian selection is sought out.
The plant is vigorous and upright at six to eight feet, and it bears abundantly once established. The fruit is reddish-orange and ripens in midsummer. Like every seaberry it is wind pollinated and the sexes are on separate plants, so a male has to be within range or you get a handsome shrub and no berries.
Overview
- Abundant reddish-orange fruit on a vigorous upright plant.
- Reported to carry about twice the vitamin C of most seaberries.
- A Siberian selection, genuinely hardy.
- Ripens midsummer, July into August.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Hippophae rhamnoides ‘Orange Delight’
Site and Soil: 1/2 day to full day of sun; sandy, rocky or lean soil that drains
Hardiness: Hardy to USDA Zone 3
Rootstock: Grown from cuttings
Bearing Age: 2 to 3 years after planting
Size at Maturity: Upright and vigorous, about 6 to 8 ft tall and wide
Ripening Time: Early to mid season; July into August
Pollination: Female; needs a male seaberry nearby to set fruit
Pests & Diseases: Few problems; a tough shrub that shrugs off most of them
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Seaberries are wind pollinated, not insect pollinated, so the male needs to be upwind of the females rather than merely nearby.
- Regional Insight: Seaberry asks for sun and sharp drainage rather than rich ground, and it feeds itself nitrogen, so it fruits on poor sandy sites where little else will.
- Explore more seaberries in our collection: Seaberry Plants
