Goumi (Cherry Silverberry)

Elaeagnus multiflora

Origin: East Asia

Improvement status: Unknown

Seeds per packet: 6

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Perennial

Goumi is the non-invasive cousin of the increasingly ubiquitous Autumn Olive, with bigger, tastier fruit. Native to China, Korea, and Japan, goumi fruit grow on a pretty shrub with olive-like deciduous leaves. The sweet-tart fruit have little-enough astringency when fully ripe to be enjoyed raw out of hand, but their finest use is in making jams, jellies, and other processed products. Goumi wine is fantastic. Interestingly, though it's not a legume, goumi is capable of fixing its own nitrogen through a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing Frankia bacteria.

Our friends at the Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) have an excellent write-up about goumis on their website, found here [https://www.phillyorchards.org/2021/06/07/spotlight-on-goumi-berry-nitrogen-fixer-extraordinaire/ ], from which the following quotations were borrowed:

"Goumi shrubs can grow up to 8ft high and wide, with distinct bell-shaped, cream-colored flowers in early spring that carry a delicious fragrance and green leaves that feature a silver, shimmering underside. Its cherry-like fruit is a bright red, silver-speckled drupe that can grow up to ½ inch with a single fibrous, edible seed. Although goumi berry fruit begin turning red as early as May, their flavor may be too astringent at first and are best consumed when “dead-ripe". According to Lee Reich’s “Uncommon Fruit for Every Garden” its sweetness “almost doubles” and its trademark astringency “decreases dramatically” when harvested between June and July. Here in Philadelphia, the ripening period is usually late May to early June, making it one of the first fruits to ripen in most years. Goumi berries, even when picked before their final stages of ripeness, are an excellent contender for pies, tarts, preserves, fruit leather, and even wine!"

These seeds come to us from our good friend Irena Hallowell who harvested them from a mature planting at Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, Virginia.

NOTE: While some other species in the Elaeagnus family are classified as invasive plants, goumi itself has shown no tendency towards invasiveness and does not appear on any state or national invasive species lists.

GROWING TIPS: From our friends at POP - "Goumi berries are a POP favorite in orchard sites due to their early fruit production, shade tolerance, resilience and nitrogen-fixing capabilities. While they have a preference for well-drained soil, goumis are able to survive in dry, salty, alkaline and nutritionally poor soils...

A rather tough plant, goumi shrubs can be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9 and are able to withstand extreme temperatures (roots can survive temps as low as -20 F ), drought and poor air pollution. Although they are tolerant to shade, they grow best in half-a-day of full sun and are further noted as a formidable plant companion due to being both pest and disease resistant. Goumi shrubs are partially self-fertile, so while they can be planted alone, they yield a better harvest when cross-pollinating with another variety of goumi! In POP’s experience, cultivated varieties of goumi produce plenty of fruit whether or not they are planted near a companion for cross-pollination.

Goumi shrubs can be grown by seed or cuttings. Goumis propagated by seed require 4 weeks of warm stratification followed by 12 weeks of cold stratification to help the seeds germinate. Cuttings should be taken in mid-to late summer, planted 2 inches deep and kept wet to prevent drying out and dying. Goumis planted by seed can expect to bear fruit in 3-10 years, while cuttings bear fruit within 3-4 years."

NOTE: The photo of goumi flowers comes from user scott.zona and is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. The others are in the public domain.