Elderberry is a native plant that can do many things in your landscape. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is a tart, edible fruit that can be used in jams, pies, wines, and even for medicinal purposes. If you are looking to make your landscape more edible, elderberry is an option to try.
Elderberry also has aesthetic qualities in the garden and landscape. This shrub-like plant can grow to heights of six to 12 feet. There are varieties with green foliage and varieties with beautiful purple foliage. The lace-like flowers produce dark purple berries. Elderberry plants send up multiple canes, and you can expect flowers and berries the second or third year after planting. Berries ripen in late summer.
Lastly, elderberry supports wildlife. Birds love the berries, so even if you don’t, the plants will provide a food source for feathered friends. Although wind-pollinated, Michigan State University says the flowers attract beneficial insects such as butterflies.
Elderberry is not picky about where it grows. The plant enjoys medium to wet soils and will tolerate clay as long as there is good drainage, MSU says. In poorly drained soils, you can try planting on a berm to help chances of success. Both full sun and partial shade are tolerated and elderberries are hardy through USDA Zone 4a. They like a soil pH between 5.5 and 6.5.
Michigan State University advises to plant elderberry in spring after the final frost. You can plant one-year-old bare-root plants or potted plants from the nursery. With bare-root plants, remove perennial weeds from the planting area to avoid competition and remove flowers after blooming the first year to promote healthy root growth and structure instead of fruit production.
Elderberry spreads through root suckers, MSU says. Prune these back in late winter to prevent the plant from naturalizing over a large area. You do not need to prune for fruit production, but pruning back older and damaged stems once every one to two years will stimulate new fruit-producing growth. Older varieties can take a hard pruning back to the ground to help remove diseased stems if the plant is struggling, but MSU says new cultivars might not be as tolerant of this type of pruning. Check with the plant supplier.
Elderberry is susceptible to a number of insect and disease issues. Interestingly, MSU says elderberry shows some resistance to deer, and might actually deter deer from your garden. If you are hoping to harvest fruit, cover with netting to prevent birds from eating the crop.
Pests include spotted wing Drosophila – an invasive fly whose larvae damage ripe and unripe fruit. Plastic mulches around the plant base can deter flies from laying eggs and larvae from pupating in the soil, but there are few non-insecticide options available for managing this pest. Moths, such as the common stalk borer, can lay eggs inside stems as can the elderberry borer, which lays its eggs near the base of stems. Wilting stems and flowers are a sign of borer damage. Japanese beetles also enjoy feeding on elderberry foliage, which can cause severe damage.
Disease issues include elderberry rust which produces orange growth on leaf blades, causing them to curl. Michigan State University says Carex sedges are alternate hosts for the rust, meaning if you have this plant in your landscape, you may have an elevated risk of elderberry rust. Remove affected twigs and destroy to stop the spread of rust which can affect fruit yields.
