Seaberry Propagation: Suckers! (notes and detailed observations)

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[thehumblefactory]

Sean, I've seen the same pattern of fall die-back in dug suckers/layered stems with Seaberries, goumi, and also ceanothus. One thing that has helped is to notice one year old suckers, and sever the lateral root in-situ (just by slicing with a spade, guessing where the root might be) in the fall or spring, then leave them for a year in the ground to re-develop roots. I find that this brings the fall survival rate up closer to the spring harvesting, and it makes heartier plants when they are dug. It also allows me to spread out the work of moving plants over the seasons, since once they are discrete plants with their own root systems, fall digging/transplanting is much more successful.

Thanks again for all your and Sasha's hard work in getting clear explanatory information out on these fascinating characters and ecological partners!

[poorias]

I live east of Toronto in Ontario and I have dug up and moved suckers of Orange Energy, Star of Altai and Sunny along with the male variety Lord in the month of September the past couple of years with great success by moving them a day or two before rain is forecasted. I make sure to water them right after moving them and then water them once more if the forecasted rain doesn't occur within a few days. I've done this multiple times with each variety and especially the Star of Altai which I now have growing in 5 different locations around my property.

[pottsjk]

It reminds me of transplanting Paw Paw suckers. Early spring for those is a sound idea. You'll have more active, early primary roots. With Paw Paw, however tall the sucker was, I needed to match the cutting in mother root, the ones that did the best were the ones I harvested when they were just waking up for spring.

[workingdog_duke]

Dug out about 20 suckers this spring (mid april) and found new homes for them on the property. Seems they all thrive on neglect and do fine. When dug up in fall my seaberry suckers have a tendency to just sit there and sulk for a season or two before putting on growth.

[vonries]

Let me start with, I have NOT tried this however it makes sense. Try digging around the suckers this autumn, but don't dig them up. You are only wanting to be sure the lateral root has been severed, but other roots remain. Let them repair all winter and try digging them up next spring. No guarantees, but what in life comes with them.

[hawkspiritweaver]

Very timely... I planted two males and 6 females after watching a harvest video a couple years ago. One poor male is only 4ft tall, one female is 7ft the others average 6'. This year I noticed a large amount of suckers on the short male and the largest female. I did get a few berries on the large female but not an abundance. I will attempt to move rather than mow the ones that have grown outside the area I planned for them and want to create another stand in the back of the house. Cheers

[EvanMorgan]

Good info, thank you. I will have to move some 2 yr Seaberry plants from their current location this fall/winter as I no longer will have access to the land. They have started to sucker some, and I’ve been stool layering them, which from preliminary digging around seems to be working. I was planning to fall transplant and/or heel in suckers/plants and spring plant somewhere else. Our climate is more mild than yours there, so it will be interesting to see how the plants do with being lifted in the fall. Thinking cutting the top growth back aggressively when transplanting suckers might help with survival.

[jamep]

I just bought a few seaberry from Buzz at Perfect Circle. I'm planning to propagate the various cultivars extensively. Thanks for your video - some good thoughts about how to do it!

[BackyardBerry]

Very interested in growing this species in the future. Afraid it wouldn’t be excited about my hard packed clay. Gonna start working to fix that next season.

[hannahscott]

I was just considering propagating my seaberry so this timing can't be better! Wondering if you have a helpful way of telling the males apart from the females, other than when they are fruiting? Was thinking of doing some hardwood propagation in spring with bottom heat but my plants haven't started fruiting yet so I'm not sure which is the female. Can't wait for my plants to start suckering so I can try this out. As always, love the videos and information. Thanks! :)

[pottsjk]

It reminds me of harvesting Paw Paw suckers. I think your idea is sound. They're different plants, but they propagate similarly. With Paw Paws, I found I needed to cut off enough mother root to match the height of the sucker. And, the ones that did the best were the early spring ones, just waking up. They had more primary roots. I needed much less mother root too.

I've never had the pleasure of growing Sea Berry, either in the Blue Ridge or the Piedmont. Idid see and grow some of the craziest varieties of legumes in Arizona. Most of the trees are leguminous there. That one's got berries though. I'm getting beachy vibes from this plant. Is it mildly xeric?

[Terri-nw]

I understand, from previous videos, that you have a neighbouring farmer who uses pesticides. How do you effectively keep them off your land and what about the spraying, does it affect the air on your property? Thank you.

[darkdragonnasir]

Have you reached out to the Huadenosuanee or Seneca nations?

[MrFungi]

9/29/24. Hi Sean: I don’t have any suckers, as my Seaberries are all young, 1-2 yrs old, but a couple need to be moved, as they are now in too much shade; Is it still best to move them in spring, or should I try to move them this fall? Thank you

[justinskeans]

You recommend same thing with paw paw suckered shawn? Wait till spring

[iamtmckendry]

Can confirm transplants don't do well in fall.. Wish this video came out a few days ago :D

[tylerlet]

I’m in zone 4 central Alberta and have transplanted suckers off of my 3 year old Orange Energy, Altaskaya, and Chuyaskya varieties (all female) all summer and have planted them out in my property as well as to pots. All but one survived and put on new growth out of around … 25 maybe? I just assumed they were bulletproof but maybe I just fluked out. We will see if any survive winter I guess.

[jknijff]

What type of soil do you have there? Mine are not doing well, they are just not growing. pH level is relatively high here..

[djmoulton]

If you need both a male and a female seaberry plant to get fruit, do both sexes need to be of the same cultivar, or can they be different? Thx

[mamabeargardens]

Hmmm. I just ordered a couple seaberry varieties from Perfect Circle, but now I'm a little nervous as to whether they will thrive as a fall planting in my zone 5b (NH). I will certainly mulch them, but would I be better off potting them up and keeping them in the unheated garage for the winter? Decisions, decisions...