Planning on a big autumn olive harvest

Tony,
Many people say they are easy but I never tried it since I have 25. Lots of people are taking cuttings but they claim in some places they are an invasive. You could probably find someone willing to dig some up and send them to you. A friend has access to some impressive grafting wood. I can also take cuttings for you if you want to try some or send seed. I’ve not seen a single wild bush anywhere yet. My bushes were sold to me as Goumi by lawyers Nursery. I’m not disappointed with the purchase I made from them even though they are not goumi. My bushes seem to set pretty heavy fruit.

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@jxz7245
Any possibility we can get scionwood from the 8 different ones this winter? A 6 inch stick of wood of each is likely plenty.

Hey there, autumn olive people. I purchased an Amber and a Garnet Autumn Olive from Burpee- I haven’t received them yet, but it shouldn’t be long now. I was just wondering what your opinion was on the beauty value of these shrubs. I have seen differing opinions on if they are truly a bush or a small tree. I am wanting to put them in the front of my suburban yard. Do you think they can be maintained to look nice, and not too scrubby? There’s not much for pictures of them- or the pictures I have seen have been of the berries, or the shrubs in a wild looking field. Anyone growing these in a nicely maintained landscape?

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Katie,
Mostly these photos are amber but Garnett is in one of the photos. To me they look pretty scrubby unless used as a hedge but work great for privacy. I confirmed the identity of these photos this spring as the varieties you have.

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Look like currants!

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Thanks, that’s what I was thinking, that they would end up looking a bit wild. I’ll adjust my plan a bit and maybe grow them along a fence by some lilacs, instead of standing on their own next to the house. Do you know, would they tolerate dappled shade during part of the day? And how do those berries taste? Those are loaded! Makes me excited.

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I’ve trimmed mine to a single trunk. They grow fast. I have four different varieties growing in my backyard. I’m growing Amber, Garnet, Brilliant Rose, and Jewel. Started them last year. They’d be quite a big bigger and better branched if the dang rabbits didn’t get to them. I’ll see if I can get some pictures of them tomorrow. I think they look great.

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Thanks for the note about the bunnies… I have too many of those and have lost blueberries and very nearly a cherry tree to them, already. I will protect the autumn olives!

I prefer the red berries of Garnett but the flavor of the yellow were not objectionable, They will tolerate shade. The amber berries are much larger than Garnett.

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how old/ big do AO’s have to be to fruit? i have a unnamed variety i got from cold stream farms 4 yrs ago. no fruit yet but the darn snow keeps breaking branches on them. only 6ft tall. i really put the 10-10-10 to them this spring so im hoping they really put onalot of new growth. i pruned out all lower branches and am encouraging more vertical growth that wont get damaged by the snow. my 3 goumis that are 3yrs old , are only 5ft. and produced heavily last year.

Another winter gone by for me, and another spring with them looking horrible. For a plant that is considered invasive, these cultivars don’t do very good for me, massive dieback and some have died through the years. I am starting to plant them on southern side of hills now and see if hardiness issue, might be canker issue though, too. So far goumi has done a lot better surviving, has fruit at a better time of the year, and has bigger fruit.

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Here in Wv they are invasive .
They have been planted on abandon mine land, and have spread far and wide.
Some are more astringent than others
Have drank some good wine made from them.
They are thorny, and I made the mistake of planting them on both sides of a section of my road, looks like a life time project of cutting them back from the road. ,!
Last year I planted pawpaws in that section, and cut the A.O. Down.
Since I have to keep cutting back the A.O. And they are nitrogen fixers,I am going to chop and drop around pawpaw.
Love the smell of the flowers
Hector Black of Hidden springs nursery likes them as under story nitrogen fixers in black walnut.
I do worry about the thorns and flat tiers
Overall I like having them around

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mine died back the 1st 2 years above the snowline but now are surviving. we had alot of -30f over the last winter w/ no dieback. id like to know how old these plants need to be to produce fruit?

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It’s interesting I found a new patch of them this year in a wild wooded lot. Since the patch is one available to me I will closely monitor them for fruit quality. It’s possible they are seedlings from my bushes or someone else’s.

Mine are producing berries on the branches the rabbits didn’t eat. They have been in the ground about a year. I’ve dug them up and moved them around a few times. Neglected watering them, too. My two bushes near my house are showing some kind of strong deficiency, so I may have to do something about it. Any guesses?

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looks like a magnesium deficiency. mix a couple tbs. of epsom salt in 2g warm water. pour over all the leaves then drench the roots. i d do this 2xs. then watch for improvements. Mg. lockout happens if ph is too low so check your ph also . adding Mg when ph is too low won’t help unless you bring it up w/ some lime.

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Its an Iron Chlorosis problem http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/environmental/iron-chlorosis.aspx. Magnesium does help a plant to green up that has yellow leaves. We have magnesium deficient ground but we are not iron deficient.

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what cultivars do you grow?

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we have a heavy iron laden clay here so I’ve never seen a iron deficiency in this area…

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I think the iron is there but the clay won’t release it. I would add cow manure, compost , wood chips etc. and that should do it. We have the same problem the ground is rich but the nutrients are locked up in the clay. If I add compost the trees respond quickly!

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