I have Siberian Pea (tree)Shrubs. they get pretty tall if not pruned. do great in zone 4. They have yellow blossoms that look like pea blossoms. The seed pods dry, turn brown and drop seeds everywhere and grow…everywhere. they make an excellent screen, I have them on the west side of my patio to block the heat and sun. they really attract the pollinators.
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@steveb4 any updates here? I am considering getting Siberian Pea Shrub for my father in law for his chickens. Less thorny like @Sue-MiUPz3 has would be better if anyone has a source?
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Burnt Ridge Nursery has them for sale. I have never had a thorny Siberian Pea Shrub. The other shrub I was speaking of that was thorny is the Black Locust. The Siberian Pea Shrub is a soft shrub with beautiful yellow flowers and I believe it would do very well in your location.
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In case it helps in western canada all the homesteads have caragana as a shelterbelt or at least part of it. Where I was raised and where live now. They don’t seem to spread and are very drought tolerant once established. The seedpods dry out and drop the seeds. Small yellow flowers.
I would guess ND and MT would have the same variety?
No idea of variety, but if you research any prairie shelterbelt programs(I know Alberta has one, Saskatchewan likely does as well) you may find the variety?
Edit: Forgot to add, as a kid in SE AB the caragana row always had a flock of partridge either in it or nearby. Not certain if for cover or the seeds, but they were never far.
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I collected some seeds in the fall here on the prairies and I guess the bushes do have small thorns but they’re not very noticeable. Seeds have to get picked as soon as the pods turn color, otherwise as soon as they’re brown and dry they pop open and leave a funny opened spiral pod on the tree. If anyone is thinking about growing them, I found they’re one of the fastest growing trees from seed and they don’t need any cold stratification. I started some some small pots and they were 3 ft trees after a few months.
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I’m also interested in updates too – I purchased seed but couldn’t get them to germinate; I was thinking about trying another seller. This thread is motivating me to try again!
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In Southern Texas it seems to be too hot (or not enough chill hours) to grow Siberian pea shrub and too cold to grow pidgeon pea through the Winter. Any similar nitrogen fixers anyone can recommend? Thanks! D
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Perhaps Austrian Winter pea? They are hardy down to 0-15F, good cover crop and grow in mild Virginia winters.
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buffaloberry, goumi and autumn olive are drought tolerant N fixers and have good fruit as well.
Thanks for the ideas. I planted a bunch of autumn olive and they could’nt take our Summer temps. I am going to try goumi. Thanks!
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wow. i thought autumn olive could grow anywhere. maybe use some shade cloth over them until they get established or plant where there’s some afternoon shade. good luck!
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I’m a bit surprised AO does well by you. I know a number of guys here who have planted them for " deer cover" and the AO always freeze out over winter.
Your snowpack must insulate them.
maybe. i planted it as tiny rooted cuttings 3 years ago. that winter we got to -40 but they were completely under the snow. since then we havent seen a -30 only down to -20’s. my biggest one is about 15ft and its on poor gravelly soil grown with no water or fertilizer. only mulched. a monster even though ive been trying to control it by cutting it back every spring. its loaded with berries this year. its the fruit punch cultivar from fruitwood nursery. the other 3 are different cultivars from the same place. my sweet scarlet and red gem goumi froze back to the snow line 3 years ago but now they are as big as the biggest a.o. i always wondered if they cross pollinate? they are in the same plant class from Asia.
the issue is Autumn Olive is it needs to be watered for two years to establish it’s self. you should plant them during a wet year rather than a dry year, or spend the time and water them, 5-10 gallons per plant once a week for two years, the ground must be saturated deep, after that the roots go deep enough to not need your assistance. you’ll have the same problem with Goumi, you will need to water them if you want them to survive until they don’t need you.
Thanks, I’ll try again when I can water that often. D
you could put a PVC pipe in the ground to water them at the roots, I’ve seen it done but never tried it myself, the guy claimed good results with young fruit trees, you use less water that way. good luck.
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