Photo: VoDeTan2Dericks-Tan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Survives zone 7 through 9
Goumi/autumn olive — pleasantly tart-sweet when fully ripe; good for jam.
- Hardiness
- Zone 7 to 9
- Habit
- Shrub
- Edible part
- Fruit
- Ripens
- Late summer–autumn
- Mature size
- Suckering shrub; container-awkward
- Light
- Partial to full sun — fruits little in shade
- Soil pH
- 5.5–8.5 (very wide; nitrogen-fixing)
- Environment
- Garden origin
- Status
- Both wild and cultivated
- Years to fruit
- 2–4 yrs
- Pollination
- Self-fertile, better with a partner
Growing guide
Fertilizing. Nitrogen-fixing; needs little supplemental feed beyond an annual mulch of compost or a balanced fertilizer in spring.
How it spreads. Spreads by root suckers and self-seeds via bird-dispersed fruit; can form dense thickets and behave weedily in mild climates, though this hybrid's seedlings don't come true from seed.
Growing tips. Cut back hard after flowering to control its naturally fast, large-growing habit; watch for the gall-forming Elaeagnus sucker insect and occasional coral spot or honey fungus; can develop leaf chlorosis on shallow chalky soils despite otherwise wide soil tolerance.