…but it still doesn’t work without a male plant
Sea buckthorn is dioecious, meaning it is “two-housed”; in other words, the seed plants have separate sexes. Put more simply: female and male flowers do not occur on the same individual, but only on different plants. Dioecy always leads to complete cross-pollination, thereby preventing inbreeding depression. The disadvantage is that only around half of the population produces seeds.
In cultivated sea buckthorn, flower formation occurs after approximately 3 years, whereas in the wild it does not occur until after 5 years. Male and female plants cannot be distinguished from one another until the first flowers begin to form, between April and May.
The male flowers grow on very short stalks in a spherical inflorescence, known as flower buds. The four stamens are covered by a deep, two-lobed calyx tube. The pollen is stored in the sepals and dispersed by wind when dry.
The greenish-yellow female flowers are only about 5 millimetres in size, stalked, and relatively inconspicuous. They occur in a short, spike-shaped inflorescence and have a longer calyx tube than the male flowers. The ovary consists of a carpel containing the ovule. It goes without saying that only the female flowers bear fruit and develop into orange-coloured berries.
This botanical peculiarity can make cultivating sea buckthorn a challenge. While in the wild the ratio of male to female plants is approximately 1:1, in a cultivation facility the ratio of male to female plants should be approximately 1:9, with the male flowers not merely positioned among the female plants, but ideally “framing” them.
In cultivated sea buckthorn, flower formation occurs after approximately 3 years, whereas in the wild it does not occur until after 5 years. Male and female plants cannot be distinguished from one another until the first flowers begin to form, between April and May.
The male flowers grow on very short stalks in a spherical inflorescence, known as flower buds. The four stamens are covered by a deep, two-lobed calyx tube. The pollen is stored in the sepals and dispersed by wind when dry.
