Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

Unlike Purging or Common Buckthorn, Alder buckthorn is thornless. Its also hermaphrodite, which Common buckthorn isn't. Both Buckthorns are, however, the only foodplants of the Brimstone butterfly, which makes them an obligatory part of any butterfly garden. Frangula alnus is native across most of Europe and Western Asian and owes its botanical name to its brittle wood, which is, however, hard and durable.

Value For Wildlife

Alder Buckthorn is a good hedge plant; put one in a hedge facing South or in any sheltered position and you will find yourself breeding Brimstones sooner rather than later. We have two stands of Alder Buckthorn in our garden and have include it in a new hedge to do exactly this. Their insignificant flowers have also - surprisingly - turned out to be magnets for all sorts of bees. Birds eat its berries, but they are toxic to us.

Plants For Sale

Like all our native trees and hedging, our Alder buckthorn has UK origin and provenance - that's to say they're British grown using seed from trees here.

Suppliers: Oakover Nurseries, RV Roger, British Hardwood Trees

Your purchase helps us support a range of charities, which are related to the products we sell.

See our planting and size guide for details and tips on planting Alder Buckthorn.

These Alder Buckthorn plants are all bare root, and are consequently available for delivery from November until March (please ask if you are interested in pot grown plants). During the lifting season there may be up to two weeks delay between placing the order and dispatching, due to weather conditions or pressure of orders, which are dealt with in date sequence. Orders for Alder Buckthorn placed between March and September are confirmed in October ready for dispatch from November.