Hippophae Rhamnoides in Greece Today

A legend tells how the ancient greeks used sea buckthorn leaf 

in a diet for race horses, hence its botanical name “hippophae” 

– shiny horse. According to another legend, sea buckthorn 

leaves were the preferred food of Pegasus – the flying horse 

– and were allegedly helpful in getting him airborne!  

I have read this legend before and know the origin of the Latin name for Seabuckthorn.  An e-mail from Dimitris in raised the question of the climate in Greece and if it was appropriate for Seabuckthorn cultivation.  If the legends are true then it would follow the answer is yes.  Modern climate zone maps suggest there are areas in the southern portions of Greece which would not provide a sufficient amount of cold weather in the fall and winter to allow the plants to rest before new spring growth begins.  There are garden blog posts which describe garden success in Zone 8.  As with many aspects of this plant, the information is not complete and the readers here can add a huge amount of information by sharing their own experiences.  
I would like to point you to Dimitris' blog and suggest using Google's Chrome browser.  It will translate the content easily to english and many other languages.  

Dimitris has a wealth of information and experiences to share.  

You can visit his project here - http://www.ippofaesplus.com/