August 2026 update: We will have more Goumi Berry shrubs available soon. Please add yourself to our waitlist if you'd like to be notified when.
The Goumi Berry is a deciduous shrub that fixes nitrogen, tolerates poor soil and drought, and produces beautiful, nutritious berries. Growing seven feet tall and wide, these shrubs are covered in cream-coloured, bell-shaped flowers in May - a favourite of spring mason bees. The flowers are followed by edible fruit in June, hanging on branches like red jewels.
Though Goumi Berry bushes can take 4-10 years to bear fruit when grown from seed, our plants are propagated by air-layering and cuttings, so they will mature much faster, possibly flowering their first year.
Common names: Goumi Berry, Cherry Silverberry, Cherry Elaeagnus, Cibie, Longpipe Bush, Daio-Gumi
Edible: Fruit (but not the seeds)
Harvest timing: June
Scientific name: Elaeagnus multiflora 'Red Gem'
Light requirements: Full sun
Full-grown size: 6-8' tall x 6-8' wide
Hardiness: Zone 4
Pollination: This variety is reliably self-fertile but cross pollination can increase yields.
Wildlife: It is one of the first shrubs to bloom each spring in our garden, and it is a favourite of our Blue Orchard mason bees. They seem to prefer it over any other plant in the spring garden, even flowering brassicas.
Origin: Japan, China, Korea
Noteworthy: Nitrogen fixer often used in permaculture. Drought tolerant. Nutritious. Tolerates poor, sandy soil.
