Description
Elaeagnus multiflora> The Red Gem Goumi is a smaller sized plant, generally staying 6' in the northwest. It produces good tasting berries the size of a black bean, and tends to have few, if any thorns. Goumi berries are sweet-tart, full of antioxidants, and ripen in early summer, even in the shade. Goumi berries are also excellent made into fruit leathers, jam, or dried, when their one large seed becomes less noticeable. Drought tolerant, this is one nitrogen fixing berry plant that is an excellent companion for fruit trees, gardens and in a food forest. It will perform well in the understory beneath other trees and keeps its silvery green leaves for much of the year in the Pacific Northwest, remaining evergreen in especially mild areas. It is in the same genus as the popular ornamental plant silverberry. Goumi and its related plants are sometimes known as oleaster.
USDA Zone 4-8Pollination: Self-fertile. Time to productivity: 2-3 years depending on conditions.Ripening time: July Size: 5-6 feet tall when full grown. Some cultivars are taller.