Temperate Fruit & Orchards > Temperate Fruit Buy, Sell, & Trade
Catherine's Find goumi plants for sale - 1g
Reedo:
Hi Folks,
I propagated a bunch of Catherine's Find plants last year and ended up with more plants than I intend to use. The plants are rooted cuttings from last summer, in 1g pots. I've grown several varieties of goumis and these are easily the largest and best tasting selection I've grown. The plants have good root balls, and are actively growing right now. They are deciduous, so expect them to drop their leaves when your local temperatures drop.
The price is $35 (includes shipping). If you're near Santa Cruz, you can pick them up for $25 a plant.
If you're unfamiliar with the plant, here is what Catherine had to say:
--- Quote ---Hey Folks,
I thought I would weigh in on the "Catherine's Find" Goumi.
I originally found the plant growing in an out-of-the-way spot at the Dwight Way Nursery in Berkeley. I don't remember what year it was, but the nursery has been out of business for a number of years now. There were two plants—fruiting and labeled Elaeagnus 'ebbingei'. I asked permission, sampled the fruits, decided they were good, and bought one plant. I wish I had bought the other as well.
I was never satisfied that the plant was actually 'ebbingei'. I even bought another plant by mail order that was labeled 'ebbingei', but it was definitely not the same plant.
One member who was familiar with goumi in Japan suggested that there is a lot of variation in Elaeagnus multiflora. So, since then, I’ve assumed the plant is multiflora.
One of the reasons I have never registered the fruit with CRFG is that I have not been sure of the identity. Hortus Third (1976) is my only reference book that describes all of the Elaeagnus species.
Here are a couple of descriptions from Hortus Third:
E. latifolia is described as: "Oleaster, Wild Olive. Variable, either erect or climbing, sometimes treelike; leaves ovate to elliptic or broader, obtuse or acute, to 5 in. long, silvery or rusty beneath; flowers many, clustered; fruit red, to 1 1/2 in. long."
E. multiflora is described as: "Cherry E., Gumi. To 6 ft., deciduous; leaves silvery and with brown scales beneath; flowers fragrant, 1–2 in leaf axils; fruit scarlet, on slender stalks to 1 in. long, edible. Leaves variable in shape; some forms have been named as cultivars: 'Crispa', 'Ovata', 'Rotundifolia'."
The mother plant of the cuttings that some of you have has characteristics of both of these descriptions. Perhaps it is a hybrid. The genus seems to hybridize easily—E. ebbingei is a hybrid of E. macrophylla and E. pungens. Perhaps the seedlings folks have grown from my plant are also hybrids. I do have a known E. multiflora on my property.
What we really need is a good taxonomist who can key out E. multiflora and E. latifolia. Or genetic analysis. Anybody want to pay for that? :)
Incidentally, I'm not sure that naming the plant after myself was appropriate. I know that's a gross breach of etiquette for scientific names. Were I to register this plant with CRFG, I would probably rename it E. 'Dwight Way'.
And did you notice—Hortus Third uses feet and inches, not metric!?! I don't have a newer version (if there even is one). Are they still doing that?
Cheers,
Catherine Anderson
--- End quote ---
Marta also has a little writeup on this selection on her blog: https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2023/12/hybrid-goumi-catherines-find-and-its.html
Reedo:
Off to their new homes!
mkono:
How does this compare to Carmine/Tillamook, if you have tried those before?
Reedo:
--- Quote from: mkono on September 25, 2025, 11:50:30 AM ---How does this compare to Carmine/Tillamook, if you have tried those before?
--- End quote ---
Sorry, I haven’t tried those specific cultivars before. I purchased a few selections from One Green World years ago, and have since replaced them all with CF, and seedlings of CF. Tillamook looks like a nice large berry similar to CF. I’d be interested in trying that one. I haven’t heard any reviews of it yet from folks who have grown many cultivars.
Marta wrote, in regards to CF: “It has larger and tastier fruits than the commonly available goumis.” That led me to stop trialing other varieties and focus on trialing CF seedlings in search of interesting results, instead. Given her extensive work trialing and circulating selections, I usually take her insight as pretty objective. That being said, if anyone wants to trade some Tillamook cutttings for CF cuttings, I’d be happy to trade!
BenCantrell:
Excited to give this one a try! Thanks for the opportunity. I assume most people with CF are in warmer climates. Any reports on its cold hardiness? I'm going to eventually put mine in the ground (with plenty of mulch) here in zone 5b/6a, but for this winter I'll keep it in a container in the garage. We occasionally get cold snaps down to -15 F.
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