Overview & Description

The Russet Buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis) is a hardy, dioecious native shrub valued for its distinctive silvery, scurfy foliage. The leaves are oval, covered in silvery scales on both sides, giving the plant a unique grey-green to russet-bronze appearance. Inconspicuous yellow flowers appear in spring before the leaves emerge. This is a dioecious species, meaning male and female flowers are on separate plants. Female plants produce tart, translucent red-orange to bright red berries (drupes) that ripen in mid-summer, which are edible but bitter and often used in jellies.

Growth & Size

This variety exhibits an upright to spreading, loosely branched growth habit. It is a slow-growing shrub that can sucker to form small colonies. It typically reaches a mature size of about 3 to 8 feet in height with a spread of 3 to 8 feet. It can live for approximately 50 years.

Additional Notes

It blooms in early spring before leaves emerge. Extremely cold-hardy to Zone 2, drought-tolerant, and nitrogen-fixing, it thrives in poor, sandy, or rocky soils in full sun to partial shade. It is a valuable food source for birds and mammals. An outstanding choice for wildlife habitat, erosion control, reclamation projects, shelterbelts, xeriscapes, and naturalized plantings where its ornamental foliage and ecological function are assets.