Elderberry

American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) BARE ROOT TREES WILL BEGIN SHIPPING OCT/NOV. 

Elderberry is an awesome and super fast growing shrub. When planted on an ideal site they can put on serious growth in one season. I have seen some shrubs grow over 6 feet tall in one year. Elderberry typically maxes out at 20 feet tall. It is commonly trimmed to remain shorter. This makes flower and berry harvesting easier. If cut back to ground level elderberry will send up new shoots. This method is called coppicing and is our favorite way to prune elderberries. These plants grow very well from cuttings.

When grown from cuttings the resulting plant is genetically identical to the parent plant. Most elderberry plants sold are grown as cuttings and therefore the genetic diversity available is low. In the wild elderberry are rather abundant and the genetic pool in the wild populations is very diverse. There are several different species of elderberry from different parts of the world. The native American species (Sambucus canadensis) does best in our climate on the east coast. 

Elderberry is an important wildlife plant. The flowers attract many pollinators and the berries are loved by birds. In various folk traditions elderberry concoctions are used to promote healing from a range of illness and infections. From a lenses of modern science we also know that elderberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins which help to boost the immune system and balance inflammation. 

2024 Selection - BARE ROOT

This year we have 1 year old plants grown from cuttings collected at our farm in Cedar Grove NC. The patch that we collected cuttings from is a wild stand that we believe to be Sambucus canadensis, the native wild species here. They grow in several spots on the farm but the area we collect from is easily accessible from the road and grows under the power lines. Every few years the elderberry and other volunteer plants in this area are brush hogged to reset the area. These plants are all around 2 feet tall with a good root system, ready to transplant into your landscape!