Shepherdia (canadensis)

Tara Luna USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana 59936 (406) 888-7835 http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Elaeagnaceae
Family Common Name:	Oleaster Family
Scientific Name:	Shepherdia canadensis Nutt.
Common Name:	Canadian Buffaloberry
Species Code:	SHECAN
Ecotype:	Open lodgepole pine forest, near Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park, Flathead County, MT 1030 meters
General Distribution:	S. canadensis is found in open to wooded areas; from Alaska to Oregon, east to the Atlantic coast on dry or moist soils on sites at elevations from 1000 to 2500 meters.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	seed
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Stock Type:	160 ml conetainers
Time To Grow:	8 Months
Target Specifications:	Stock Type: Container seedling<br> Height: 4.5 cm <br> Caliper: 4 mm<br> Root System: Firm plug in container.
Propagule Collection:	Seeds are hand collected when fruit turns red in early to mid August. Fruits are collected in plastic bags and kept under refrigeration prior to cleaning. Seeds are dark brown at maturity.
Propagule Processing:	Fruits are extracted from fruit by maceration using a Dyb-vig cleaner and screens. Seeds/Kg: 110,000/kg Seed Storage: up to 5 years at 3 to 5C in sealed containers. Seed dormancy is classified as physical-physiological dormancy. % Purity: 100% % Germination: 49% to 75%
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Seeds are scarified by placing them into a wet tumbling scarification treatment for 5 days. Seeds are wet tumbled with 1 cm (0.5 in) gravel and water with daily water changes. Imbibed, gently scarified seeds are placed into a 90 day cold, moist stratification at 1 to 3C. Seeds are sown as germinants as they break dormancy during stratification.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Greenhouse and Outdoor Nursery. Container Type and Growing Medium used is 6:1:1 milled sphagnum peat, perlite, vermiculite. Sheperdia germinates at temperatures just above freezing during the end of the stratification period and emerges under cooler greenhouse temperatures during early spring. Preferred greenhouse temperatures after planting germinants are 18 C/ 12 C (65/55 F) day/night alternating 12 hr temperature cycle. Seedlings are grown for 2 to 3 months, un greenhouse followed by growth in the outdoor shadehouse for 6 months.
Establishment Phase:	Germination is non-uniform and continues over a 3 week period. Cotyledons emerge 10 days after planting germinants. True leaves appear 3 weeks after sowing. Seedlings are irrigated only when the medium is dry on the surface at this stage.
Length of Establishment Phase:	4 weeks
Active Growth Phase:	Seedlings produce multiple leaves 8 weeks after sowing. Seedlings are irrigated only when medium becomes dry; this species does not tolerate frequent irrigation. Seedlings are fertilized twice weekly with 20-10-20 liquid NPK at 100 ppm during this stage. Plants are fully root tight 18 weeks after sowing.
Length of Active Growth Phase:	18 weeks
Hardening Phase:	Plants are fertilized with 10-20-20 liquid NPK at 200 ppm during September. Irrigation is gradually reduced in September and October. Seedlings are given one final irrigation prior to winterization.
Length of Hardening Phase:	4 weeks
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	TotalTime To Harvest: 8 months Harvest Date:September Storage Conditions: Overwinter in outdoor nursery under insulating foam cover and snow.
Length of Storage:	5 months
Other Comments:	Buffaloberry forms a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria. It is rated as good for soil stabilization and restoration on soils with poor nutrient status. It resprouts following surface fires. The twigs are browsed by deer and elk and the berries are eaten by bears and birds.
References:	Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, University of Washington Press,7th printing, 1981. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, Baskin and Baskin, Academic Press,1998. Seeds of the Woody Plants of North America, Young and Young, Dioscoirides Press Inc,1992. Glacier National Park Propagation Records,unpublished. 1996 Revegetation Monitoring Report, Glacier National Park, Asebrook, J., Lamb, B., and Funk, T., unpublished. 1998 Revegetation Monitoring Report, Glacier National Park, Asebrook, J. and Kimball, S., unpublished.

Citation:

Luna, Tara; Wick, Dale. 2008. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Shepherdia canadensis Nutt. plants 160 ml conetainers; USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/07/01). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.