From time to time, long-known plants unexpectedly gain popularity—thanks to the tireless efforts of breeders, they acquire new beneficial properties.
A striking example is sea buckthorn. Over a hundred years ago, it was noted as a plant that deserved much wider use. Yet, it still hasn’t become as widespread as it should be.
The berries of sea buckthorn are rich in vitamin C and other nutrients. Just 100 grams of these berries, much like black currants, contain one to two daily allowances of vitamin C. They also boast more vitamin E than any other fruit or berry, second only to wild cloudberries. The pulp contains about nine percent oil, which is used to create highly effective treatments for burns, frostbite, eczema, anemia, stomach ulcers, and other ailments.
From the berries, concentrated vitamin juices, jams, jellies, and other valuable food products are made. Sea buckthorn oil and juice are excellent cosmetic products. Healing substances have also been found in the plant’s bark.
Sea buckthorn is used as a vitamin supplement for livestock. Additionally, it serves as an attractive ornamental plant.
In the wild, sea buckthorn can be found across a significant portion of the former USSR—from the Baltic to the Black Sea. It also grows in the Caucasus and southern Siberia. The plant thrives mainly along the shores of seas and lakes, in river floodplains, and on sandy soils, particularly riverbanks. It is utilized for stabilizing shorelines, road embankments, and canals, as well as in protective strips against snowdrifts.
In recent years, breeders have selected the most promising varieties—“Novinka Altaya,” “Vitamin,” “Maslyanaya,” “Golden Ear,” and others. These varieties produce large fruits that easily detach from the thornless branches.
Like black chokeberry, the new varieties come to us from Altai, primarily from the M.P. Lisavenko Research Institute of Horticulture in Siberia, which is part of the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. The cultivated sea buckthorn is propagated only vegetatively.
The most reliable time for transplanting is early spring. In gardens, sea buckthorn grows and bears fruit best in loose, humus-rich soils. It is also quite demanding when it comes to moisture.