Elaeagnus x ebbingei

Botanical Name: Elaeagnus x ebbingei

Common Names: Ebbinge's Silverberry, Autumn Olive, Elaeagnus

Elaeagnus x ebbingei is a tough, hardy evergreen shrub that handles Perth’s sandy soils and coastal winds like a champ. It features dark green leaves with silvery undersides and tiny, fragrant flowers in autumn that turn into edible red berries. It is perfect for local gardeners looking to build an easy-care hedge, windbreak, or edible forest layer.

Features:

Ideal prune height range: 2-4m

pH growing conditions: 6.0 to 7.5

Shade or full sun: Full sun to part shade

Minimum pot year 5: 45L pot

Time to fruit age: 1-2 years from cutting

Elaeagnus x ebbingei is a rapid grower that responds brilliant to pruning. It flowers around autumn, producing sweet-smelling blooms followed by small, tart, berry-like fruit high in vitamins. Drought-tolerant once established, it fixes nitrogen into the soil, making it a stellar companion plant to improve surrounding soil health in your garden.

Interesting Notes:

This plant is a powerhouse nitrogen fixer, working quietly to enrich sand and help nearby fruit trees thrive without synthetic fertilisers. The silvery leaf undersides reflect heat, giving it extra resilience against harsh summer days.

It is a top pick for permaculture systems and hedges across Perth.

Limited stock. Pickup from Parkwood, WA. Delivery to Perth Metro only.

Keywords: Elaeagnus x ebbingei, Silverberry, nitrogen fixing plant, hardy hedge Perth, edible berry shrub.

More info

Elaeagnus x ebbingei is a man-made garden hybrid. It was bred in the Netherlands in the late 1920s by crossing two species native to East Asia:

• Elaeagnus macrophylla (Broadleaf Oleaster): Passes on the broad, round leaves with bright, metallic-silver undersides and strong autumn fragrance.
• Elaeagnus pungens (Thorny Olive): Brings extreme drought tolerance, toughness in poor soils, and a dense, structural growth habit.

Combining the two gave it the lush, silvery foliage of macrophylla with the bulletproof hardiness of pungens.