Hey Everyone. I just bought some Elaeagnus x ebbingei shrubs to use as a hedge. Does anyone have any experience growing them close to black walnut? Thanks
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Dear Friend, what part of the country are you in?
I am in Coastal Carolina. I grow these shrubs for fruit and must give them a bit of shade to fruit well.
You should also know that they send out very long, tall climbing shoots and must be pruned or they will take over.
The plant itself will grow and thrive in the worst conditions and grow quickly.
@joan
I have grown this plant in southern California. In my environment, it is a robust shrub with long branches. It does not climb nor exhibit any characteristics of a vine.
In his profile it appears that he is in Virginia.
I understand what @joan is saying. Here in Georgia an elaeagnus can treat a nearby tree, even a telephone pole as a trellis and can gain a much greater height with its water sprouts than it would if it were standing by itself.
They produce long shoots which may not look like a vine, but if they are next to a tree or something else the short backwards spurs along the branches can hook onto, they will use that support to climb high. I consider them to be a mounding (wide) shrub when planted in the open or a shrubby vine if planted with support. Many people tend to sheer them though. If you do that you pretty much over-ride their natural form.
Mine are no where near any of my walnut trees though, so I can’t offer any first hand info about whether they have juglone tolerance.
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Ebbing’s Elaeagnus was imported to California a century ago. I’ve grown it here alongside unpainted wooden fences, in planter beds, etc. off and on for 50 years. It has always been an upright shrub without any spurs or behavior described in this topic. Also, the fruits have never been anything of value – containing a single large seed with a thin veneer of pulp. In San Diego county it is used extensively in condominium and industrial settings.
BTW: Ebbing was from the era of botanists who became captains of merchant sailing ships. I have read that he propagated and bred plants during the long voyages between destinations.
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There’s a ton of Eleaegnus umbellata growing near walnut trees in Norris Dam State Park near me, and I’ve seen both E. umbellata and E. multiflora on lists of juglone tolerant plants.
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ok, you’re in Martinsville. (Thanks for letting me know guys 
) I used to live in Ferrum. Beautiful area. They are extremely cold hardy and have no special requirements, but i would not recommend planting near trees they can run up, as many here have stated.
The fruit is of no account for eating out of hand, but it does have some interesting medicinal applications that i use. You can easily research these and decide if you’re interested in the fruit.
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What you and others have been sold is not Ebbing’s Elaeagnus. Whatever it is, your caution is a good point.
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This is very true. Most all of the elaeagnus that I observe here in Georgia are growing from seeds spread by wildlife. My observations are from these as well as the intentional plantings that state DOT have done where one roadway has an overpass on a state highway.
Thanks for the responses. I am planting a hedgerow behind my fence trying to stop the deer from coming over my fence and devouring my orchard. These will be part of it. There are some large black walnuts close to the fence, but not so close that these will climb up them. Thanks again.
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I’d love to see a photo of your specimens. It sounds like they’re pretty mature.
Here’s the description from OSU. These look exactly like the plants I’ve grown. Note the links to other Elaeagnus.
https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/elaeagnus-ebbingei
“here”, meaning in southern California. Most recently, I left a hedge of them in Rancho Peñasquitos.