Autumn Olive

Ornamental Shrub Attractive to Wildlife

The Autumn Olive is an ornamental shrub that is great for wildlife.  Plant a few in a naturalized area of your landscape, or one in a sunny location of the yard where you can enjoy watching it progress through the seasons.
 
There are several outstanding advantages of having an Autumn Olive in your yard, not least of which is that it’s an incredibly beautiful plant.  The leaves are 3-inches long and lance-shaped, creating a full and healthy appearance throughout the summer. Its bark is grey, but almost every other part of it is graced with silvery flakes. You’ll soon see that the silver effect is quite stunning, especially when its shimmering brilliance is captured by the morning sun. 
 
In the spring your Autumn Olive will be one of the first plants to leaf out.  Once the leaves have made their appearance, tiny yellow flowers will appear.  You’ll certainly appreciate how the lovely blooms decorate your spring landscape, but it’s the heavenly scent that will most impress.  Even just one Autumn Olive in the yard is enough to infuse the entire area with its intoxicating aroma.
 
In the fall, your Autumn Olive produces ½ inch berries.  As with most parts of your plant, the fruits are sprinkled with silvery highlights, an alluring contrast to their rich burgundy color.  Your berries will persist on the shrub into late winter, providing a beneficial supplement to your winter wildlife’s diet
 
Your Autumn Olive’s berries aren’t just for the wildlife.  They are a delicious sweet-tart treat rich in vitamins.  They are even higher in lycopene than tomatoes, which have been shown to promote prostrate health.
 
Autumn Olive is a multi-stemmed, branching shrub that grows to about 15 feet tall.  It thrives in the sun but will tolerate shade and almost any soil conditions.  In fact, its roots have nitrogen-fixing symbiants so it is often used to help with poor soils.
 
The Autumn Olive is an amazing shrub.  Beautiful, hardy and beneficial on many levels, the Autumn Olive is an outstanding addition to almost any landscape.
 
* Unusual silver highlights
* Spring scented flowers
* Fall edible berries
* Advantages for wildlife
* Hardy