If gardening by neglect is your style of gardening, Seaberry Saltbush is the plant for you. If you love gardening but enjoy your summer holiday away from home, Seaberry Saltbush is the plant for you. If you want to tickle your taste buds with both leaves and fruit, then this is the plant for you.
Seaberry Saltbush has semi-succulent leaves that are dark and shiny. The underside of the leaves is an attractive grey colour. The leaves can be cooked and eaten, or dried and used as a salt substitute. The striking pyramidal sprays of red berries in autumn can be eaten raw or made into sauces. The berries vary in sweetness from plant to plant and are easy to pick.
The berries contain betanin. Betanin or Beetroot Red is a red glycosidic food dye obtained from beets, but also used as a powerful antioxidant in the food industry. You will find this natural red pigment when you pick the berries as your hands will turn pink! It's best to wear gloves. The dye can be used as a face paint or a natural dye for cloth.
Seaberry Saltbush grows naturally in the second line of plants from the coast. It can be used as a windbreak and to hold the soil. It loves good drainage and needs only minimal watering. Seaberry saltbush grows quickly to 1-1.5m high and 1.2-2m wide and enjoys full sun or part shade. Prune regularly to promote bushy growth for an ornamental shrub and it also makes an attractive salt tolerant hedge.
Seaberry Saltbush is a good food source and habitat refuge for small birds and skinks. Its importance is now recognised in the horticultural industry for attracting beneficial predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, hoverflies and predatory mites to deal with the eggs of pest mites on commercial crops
Seaberry Saltbush has semi-succulent leaves that are dark and shiny. The underside of the leaves is an attractive grey colour. The leaves can be cooked and eaten, or dried and used as a salt substitute. The striking pyramidal sprays of red berries in autumn can be eaten raw or made into sauces. The berries vary in sweetness from plant to plant and are easy to pick.
The berries contain betanin. Betanin or Beetroot Red is a red glycosidic food dye obtained from beets, but also used as a powerful antioxidant in the food industry. You will find this natural red pigment when you pick the berries as your hands will turn pink! It's best to wear gloves. The dye can be used as a face paint or a natural dye for cloth.
Seaberry Saltbush grows naturally in the second line of plants from the coast. It can be used as a windbreak and to hold the soil. It loves good drainage and needs only minimal watering. Seaberry saltbush grows quickly to 1-1.5m high and 1.2-2m wide and enjoys full sun or part shade. Prune regularly to promote bushy growth for an ornamental shrub and it also makes an attractive salt tolerant hedge.
Seaberry Saltbush is a good food source and habitat refuge for small birds and skinks. Its importance is now recognised in the horticultural industry for attracting beneficial predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, hoverflies and predatory mites to deal with the eggs of pest mites on commercial crops