Nitrogen is a vital nutrient for plant growth and although about 78% of the earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen, most plants cannot utilize this. The majority of nitrogen is provided in the form of industrially produced fertilizers. Nitrogen fixing plants, on the other hand, are hugely beneficial in any ecosystem because they have the ability to transform nitrogen from the air into the soil. When their leaves fall and their roots die, the excess nitrogen is released back into the soil where it is picked up by other plants in the area and utilized for their own growth. The plants are also capable of growing in poor soils and improving them through their nitrogen fixation.
In this way various trees and plants growing next to each other (including the nitrogen fixers playing their unique role), can thrive in harmony. This benefits the plants themselves, but also the soil, microbes, insects and animals, and last but not least- us humans. PERMACULTURE is a fairly new term applied to this really old concept.

Buffaloberry : SILVER

Name: Buffaloberry : SILVER
SKU: 207-4753
Price: 18.95 CAD
Availability: InStock

$18.95

In stock

(Sheperdia argentea)
Another native plant with nitrogen fixing compatibilities is the Silver Buffaloberry. This attractive, thicket forming shrub has silver-gray foliage and small yellow flowers, which turn into bright red berries. The American Indians had various uses for the fruit, both culinary and medicinal. In the early 1800's the famous Lewis and Clark expedition through the American west kept extensive notes of many native plants they encountered. Of the Silver Buffaloberry they wrote "it is a pleasant berry to eat, with the flavour of cranberry." It is now known that they are very high in antioxidants and numerous nutrients, but are rather tart when raw. Multiple uses for this tough, somewhat thorny bush include shelter belts, windbreaks, erosion control, barrier planting, difficult or despoiled site reclamation as well as wildlife habitat and songbird nesting sites. Mature height can vary from 2 to 5m (6-18').

Price for 10+ $14.95 each

PLANT SEVERAL FOR POLLINATION | ZONE 2 | HARVEST: AFTER FROST