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Alder Buckthorn

Ross.ssoRRoss.ssoR Posts: 22
Does anybody have any experience with this tree/shrub?

I tend to have slightly drier soil in my garden, will I have any issues with an Alder in these conditions?

Anybody know of where I can buy a decent-sized one?

Thanks for all the help!

Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Hello Ross. If you Google the plant you will find several nurseries that sell it. It sounds useful and the fact that thrushes love its berries is always a plus point.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    The alder buckthorn is at home in acidic bogs and riverbanks ... I think it would struggle in a garden with drier soil than usual. A large one would need a lot of tlc in order to establish ... I’m not sure if it would ever do well.  :/

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    edited April 2020
    Frangula alnus..common name ..alder buckthorn used to grow  very happily next to a forestry gravel road on a dry grassy bank in South Wales.

    17 nurseries selling it.see....

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Nurseries-Search-Result?query=158867&name=&view=listView

    https://www.google.com/search?q=Frangula+alnus.+flowers&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFxY7xi_noAhX7UxUIHQGeDPAQ_AUoAXoECBYQAw&biw=1920&bih=944
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think from my holidays with Welsh Aunty B, dry grassy banks in Wales are probably wetter than dry grassy banks here in East Anglia 😂 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Ross.ssoRRoss.ssoR Posts: 22
    Thanks so much for the tips!

    I have some drier and some more normal to moist areas of my garden so might risk trying a native Alder Buckthorn. I really want to because of their benefit to wildlife! Will let you know how it goes :)


  • As a bonus Alder Buckthorn is the larval food plant of the Brimstone butterfly.
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    edited April 2020
    As a bonus Alder Buckthorn is the larval food plant of the Brimstone butterfly.
    In our Welsh garden, we bought  a Frangula alnus aspleniifolia.....
    now renamed Rhamnus asplenifolia. ..it was recommended for the butterfly' s.....by Bluebell nursery.
    I loved the leaves and autumn colour.
    Quote RHS...."This plant will provide nectar and pollen for bees and the many other types of pollinating insects"


    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
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