North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lee Reich <leeareich@gmail.com>]

I wrote about King in the Eleagnus chapter of my book Uncommon Fruits for 
Every Garden. I've seen it and tasted it; it's attractive and good-tasting. 
Many years ago Hector Black wrote of trying to grow it in Tennessee; he said 
it succumbed in midsummer to humidity. He sent me some dried ones from 
Turkey. I've tried growing it a few times and had the same results as Hector. 
Around July the plant collapses and dies.

The plant was introduced by the USDA from Afghanistan in the 1950s as a 
conservation plant in the West. Unfortunately, Russian olive is now 
classified as an invasive there so no one is planting King Red anymore.

Perhaps it would tolerate the cooler summers of Vermont. Keep us posted if 
you try it.

Lee Reich, PhD
Come visit my farmden at http://leereich.blogspot.com/
http://leereich.com/

Books by Lee Reich:
A Northeast Gardener's Year
The Pruning Book
Weedless Gardening
Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
Landscaping with Fruit
Grow Fruit Naturally

On Mar 18, 2014, at 9:13 PM, Devin Smith wrote:

> I just noticed Baker Creek is offering seed for giant fruited Russian Olive 
> (ala "King Red") and was thinking about buying some. Anyone grown these 
> from seed, and if so, how true do they come to type? Do they taste good? 
> Any idea on approximate flowering and ripening dates (southern VT warm zone 
> 5)?
> 
> I've been poking around the various roadside stands of autumn olive 
> (presumably "Cardinal" seedlings) and found one with fruits nearly double 
> the size of the rest. I plan on propagating some this spring before someone 
> decides they need to nuked, which could easily be any day now. If anyone is 
> interested in some, I could probably send some you're way. I'd be 
> interested to know if others here have made similar finds.
> 
> One final idea I thought I'd run by the Eleagnus enthusiasts among you, was 
> the idea of doing some inter-specific crosses. I've looked around for info 
> about this, wondering if it had been done or was possible, and turned up 
> nada. The most practical way to proceed, I thought, would be to save some 
> pollen (in a jar in the freezer) from goumi and use it to pollinate Autumn 
> Olive. Anyone know if this has been attempted? Anyone been able to find 
> info about breeding Eleagnus?
> 
> 
> -Devin Smith
> Witness Oak Polycultures
> 
> Rockingham, VT
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