Buffaloberries....help!

I just got back from visiting friends in North Dakota and we took a day trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We drove past a lot of buffaloberry bushes that were red with fruit, but I couldn't get out of the car in those areas to grab some seeds or cuttings.  Does anyone know if there are better selections of buffaloberries available.  I'm hoping for great yields of red berries, perhaps a few orange ones too.  This article calls them the next super fruit....being a pretty nitrogen fixer makes me agree.  I really liked the flavor

https://www.businessinsider.com/buffaloberry-is-the-new-superfruit-2013-11

If there aren't nurseries with heavy bearing selections that anyone knows of, do you live in buffaloberry territory can I convince you to send me some seeds from a heavy bearing plant?  I'm happy to pay for the seeds.  I would really like to grow out a bunch of them to select for heavy bearing plants.  I'm looking to add some more nitrogen fixing fruit makers in my forest garden.

Martin Crawford wrote this article about buffaloberry that I thought people here might find interesting:
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/why-you-should-grow-buffalo-berry-shepherdia-argentea

Because of it I wrote to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to see if they're moving forward with releasing selections.  I'll let you guys know what I find out in case others are interested as well.

Buffalo berries are awesome the bushes are nitrogen fixes but super spiky though. I'm harvesting some this week actually both for the berries and seed for myself, I'm in Saskatchewan Canada while it is legal to send seeds shipping might be expensive. I have no idea if there are improved varieties or not (doubt it).

Hi Marc.  I'm sending you a Purple Mooseage!

I would be very interested in some buffaloberry seeds if someone in the US happened to be able to get some.

Hawthorn and Buffaloberries are the only shrub that consistently puts out fruit every year here. I will disagree with the article though, in that if it's been a dry year and the water content isn't good, the berries are not "high enough in sugar to eat fresh" - one will make a face like they took a bite out of a lemon in that scenario. Still good for other things like jam though.

Something that should be noted is that they take a long time to grow. The one in my yard has maybe put on 1 or 2 feet in 5 years, but then again that's without any tending to it.

As for being the next superfood, I'm not certain of that because of similar issues with seaberries which is that they are difficult to harvest.

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I'll see if I can snap a pic today of a few on the side of the road. My guesstimate is that the 6-7 foot tall ones have about 1-1.5 gallons of fruit on them on average.

I could probably send some seeds aswell, but I'd have to look into how international shipping works with seeds.

Our conservation district sells them in it's wind break selection.

They are great for pollinators as well being the first bloomer in our area.

How much do they cost?  Do they sell them online?

Are Buffalo berries dispersive?  And how do they respond to pruning?  Anyone have a preference between Shepherdia argentea and Sheperdia canadensis?  

I am just getting into Buffalo Berries this year. I started some seeds, and ordered some year-old plants.
So I have some genetic variety, and different ages. (Hopefully, that mix also includes both male and female plants.)

I came looking for additional information about Buffalo Berry plants, and came across this thread.

Specifically, do these plants thrive within the drip-line of Pine and Spruce trees?
Many plants do not like the sticky wax that gets washed off Spruce and Pine trees; the ground around these trees is usually bare.
However, I've read that Buffalo Berry plants are often used as a wind break and can be planted right beside Pine and Spruce.
If that's the case, I have the perfect spot for them: on the south side of some 40-year old Pine and Spruce trees whose lower branches have died off already.

Can anybody in these forums confirm one way or the other?
Will Buffalo Berry plants live under Pine and Spruce trees?

I can get you some seeds, they are native to my area and I know where a bunch of them are.

I've grown quite a few from seed over they last 3 years, never done them from cuttings before. They are pretty slow growing, like 1/3 to 1/2 the rate of seaberry or goumi.

Some general observations from Montana. I see buffaloberry commonly growing with hawthorn and chokecherry in the draws along I-90 in south central MT. Seems to be a naturally occurring guild where there’s a bit more moisture collecting. These are much drier sites than anyplace I can imagine in Maine. I have no idea if it may be too moist back in eastern deciduous forest country.

I inherited several buffaloberry when I bought the property where I reside. They were likely planted in the mid to late 60s and stand 2-3 meters tall. I know there is one male plant and it seems to pollinate the five female plants immediately beside it in a north-south line. All of them were overshadowed by huge Russian olive until four years ago. The removal of the olive released all of the plants. They produced berries sparingly before that time. They now have a much larger crop. These grow in an area with a high water table so I have never watered them in the 11 years I’ve been here. I  have no idea if these are a named variety but the berries tend to be quite small (IMO). It takes a lot of work to pick a handful. These plants are extremely spiny and make a person pay if one gets too close. They are a great wildlife food plant and tough as nails against the wind but caveat emptor on trying to grow these for berry production. I hope to someday plant some more elsewhere but more like in zone 4/5 on the place. Mine just are not great berry producers. Three have started to sucker since the olive tree was removed so I have some candidates for transplanting. I hope this helps with some of you thinking of adding this plant. Oh, they do grow very close to clump of Colorado blue spruce and don’t seem to be bothered by them.

Abe Coley wrote:I can get you some seeds, they are native to my area and I know where a bunch of them are.

I am always interested in more seeds, for the sake of genetic diversity, but I like to be sure they are Silver Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia argentea). I am anal about documenting all the plants that go in the yard. Are those plants silver?

Also, I live in Canada; shipping and payment might be a hassle. I suppose a handful of seeds sent by regular letter mail wouldn't raise any eyebrows in Canada Post, but what about payment?

David Binner wrote: Are those plants silver?

Yeah they have really narrow grey/silver leaves, unlike canadensis leaves which are wider and green. If you want me to be super double extra sure, i can get some from a labeled tree at the arboretum at our local college.

I can just load you up a regular envelope, no charge

Abe Coley wrote:
Yeah they have really narrow grey/silver leaves, unlike canadensis leaves which are wider and green. If you want me to be super double extra sure, i can get some from a labeled tree at the arboretum at our local college.

I can just load you up a regular envelope, no charge

I just sent you a Purple Mooseage.