Silver Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) is an upright, deciduous shrub with thorny gray stems and gray-green leaves. Silver Buffaloberry is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Small greenish-yellow flowers appear in spring and are followed by small red berries on the female plants. These berries are edible and sour and can be eaten off the bush, used in jams or jellies, or left on the shrub for the birds. Both male and female plants will be necessary to produce the berries. Since this shrub is suckering, thorny, and difficult to prune, it can be used as a specimen plant, but is more commonly used as a background, hedge, windbreak, or privacy planting. It is tolerant of urban pollution.
Expected 2025 Availability- Late April or Early May
Silver Buffaloberry
Irrigation Requirement: Low (1/2" every 10-14 days) to Moderate (1/2" every 7-10 days)
Mature Size: 6 - 12' tall and 6 - 10' wide
Spacing: 6 - 10' apart
Bloom Colors: Green/Yellow
Bloom Season: April
Hardiness Zone: 3 - 6
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Deer Resistant: No
Salt Tolerant: Unkown
Soils: Does best in well-drained soil, but tolerates sand, loam, or clay soils.
Plants in the Shepherdia genus are host species for 16 known native pollinators in northern Utah. Silver Buffaloberry also provides nectar to pollinators in the early spring, berries for birds in the late summer and early fall, and habitat for birds and small animals.