Hippophae rhamnoides Orange Energy® (female)

Orange Energy Sea Buckthorn bush (Hippophae rhamnoides Orange Energy®) is prized for its extraordinarily heavy crops of large, vivid orange berries - so abundant that in September the entire plant essentially turns orange! Birdatchers will delight in the many birds attracted to the berries as a valuable food source. Valued for both its ornamental beauty and exceptional fruit quality, this German cultivar is commonly planted as a striking specimen plant or as an edible hedge.

Orange Energy Sea Buckthorn berries are exceptionally rich in nutrients, including vitamins A, C, and E, folic acid, carotenoids, antioxidants, and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The fruits are extremely juicy and flavourful, with a pleasantly tart, mildly citrus-like taste. Yields of 14 kg or more (30 lb+) provide copious amounts of fruit for juicing and for preserves such as marmalades, jams, jellies, and syrups. As with cranberry juice, sea buckthorn juice is typically diluted - often with up to 70% water - and frequently blended with other fruit juices.

Berries may be harvested by hand (care is required, as the branches are moderately thorny) or by cutting fruit-laden branches and freezing them. Once frozen, the berries can be easily shaken off.

Orange Energy Sea buckthorn berries also contain a medicinally valuable oil, and the plant has been used for centuries in food, traditional medicine, and skincare throughout its native regions of northwestern Europe and Central Asia. In Canada, sea buckthorn products are widely available in health food stores and pharmacies as nutritional supplements and cosmetics.

The Sea buckthorn bush is dioecious and wind-pollinated. Hippophae rhamnoides ‘Orange Energy’ is a female variety, producing small, discreet yellow flowers in May. A male plant is required for fruit set; suitable pollinators include Hippophae rhamnoides ‘Gnom’, ‘Lord’, or ‘Pollmix’. One male plant can typically pollinate up to six female plants. Fruit production begins after 2–3 years and often continues for 30 years or more.

The deciduous, willow-like leaves are silvery green, up to 7.5 cm long, and may be used fresh or dried for tea. While the foliage does not develop notable autumn colour, the brilliant orange berries create a dramatic fall display, making the plant especially popular as an ornamental specimen.

With an upright, bushy growth habit, Orange Energy sea buckthorn plant reaches approximately 4 m in height and 2.25 m in spread. It can be grown as a multi-stemmed shrub or trained into a single-stem tree. Orange Energy Seaberry is also well suited to hedging; its moderately thorny branches make it an effective defensive hedge. A nitrogen-fixing plant, the sea buckthorn bush thrives in challenging conditions and is often used to improve poor soils and prevent erosion. It does best in a full sun location, and is salt-tolerant and drought-tolerant once established.

Extremely hardy to zone 3a (-40 °C), Orange Energy sallow thorn is a low-maintenance plant that is notably resistant to pests and diseases.

Sea buckthorn is widely cultivated in Eastern Europe, Russia, and China. It was introduced to Canada in the early 2000s following government-led research into its agricultural potential, with experimental plantings in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. ‘Orange Energy’ is a German cultivar developed through a breeding program led by the late Hans-Joachim Albrecht in Berlin. Fruit from these German varieties is used extensively for commercial juice production in Germany. Compared with Russian cultivars, German sea buckthorn varieties typically exhibit higher fruit acidity, later ripening, and greater overall vigour.