I'll do this to move it along, looks like no responses likely...

The thing about russian o;ive is that it is a pioneer species. Give it enough water and of course sunlight (all pioneer species need light to grow. Most if not all cannot survive well under canopy). it will grow. They take over disturbed and poor soil in order to get the conditions ready for the next stage of succession. IF we stopped disturbing soil and forests so much, there probably wouldnt be as much of a problem with invasives.... You pretty much cannot kill russian olives once they are established, except by shading them out. There growth slows then they rot from the bottom up. Snapping off a few inches of a plant, even seedlings shouldnt do any harm. If anything it will encourage branching making a shelterbelt a bit more effective. Bottom line: SHOULD you be using russian olive in an area in which it is known to be invasive? Probably not, but if it is already established in your area a few more really wont do much damage. If I were in your situation, I would do everything I could to create high and low areas in the soil to trap water as much as I could. I would then find as many native pioneer plants to cover the soil, then adding as many native AND non native usefull plants, which also are pioneer species.

Hi tenacre, One reason I know Autumn Olive only too well is because it is a pernicious weed in my state, Maryland. Our state tree nursery actively distributed them, the soil conservation districts did the same until they stopped due to loud, screaming environmentalists. I have never seen Russian Olive. I considered for a moment that you might have Elaeagnus commutatus the native Silverberry. I don't think that's what you have. Sure would be helpful to know which state you are posting from. Russian Olive is a tremendous problem in some parts of the country. It is supposed to have "willow" like leaves and yellow flowers. Eradication of Autumn Olive is not gonna be easy but it can be done. The fruits are so plentiful and there is a buildup of dormant seed in the seed bank. Set a goal to eliminate it over a period of years and it can be done.

It is confusing because there are two species of Eleagnus (actually more, but 2 are most important). People talk about the two as though they were the same plant with the same qualities but they are not. Russian Olive (angustifolia) is a tree. It likes moist soil and takes 15 years to flower. It is the fragrant one. It is very beautiful and actually looks like an olive tree. Though it grows untidily -- it is actually not that vigorous -- branches of it turn leafless and die, hence the need for pruning. However, Russian olive (the tree) has shown itself to be a pest in the Western USA because in desert areas it colonizes river banks and crowds out other species. It is not very invasive in the East but has the potential to be so, or so they say. Autumn olive (umbellata) is a shrub. It withstands drought and was planted in the thousands by state governments as "wildlife shelter" in parks and roadsides. It has become a serious pest everywhere, I think, and should not be grown or planted commercially. I love Russian Olive and am ready to defend it in the event it has been unjustly maligned, but I have accepted people's word that it is a potential problem that should never be introduced in wildlife plantings on the East coast as was done in the past. (It goes without saying it should not be planted in the Western US). As to whether it should permanently be banned from home gardens --- I am now an agnostic on this point.