In November I had a big spruce tree cut down and replaced it with a lot of
topsoil and whatever dormant bushes I could find at the local nurseries. I
always intended to plant bushes for the birds but could find no berry bushes.
Guess the birds will appreciate the cover. There is a large space at one end
of this new garden and I would like to plant an elderberry as soon as I can.
Will I be sorry? Do nursery grown elderberry bushes thrive? I have lots of
space for it to spread. Is it a good idea or not? Sunny location.

Marilyn in Ohio (zone 5/6)

It's tough to keep neat, tending to form massive, unkempt colonies.
Nevertheless, those fruits sure are prized by a wide variety of wildlife,
and I think it's gorgeous in flower. They tend to do best in wet areas.

Dave

"Allview" wrote in message
...
In November I had a big spruce tree cut down and replaced it with a lot of
topsoil and whatever dormant bushes I could find at the local nurseries.
I
always intended to plant bushes for the birds but could find no berry
bushes.
Guess the birds will appreciate the cover. There is a large space at one
end
of this new garden and I would like to plant an elderberry as soon as I
can.
Will I be sorry? Do nursery grown elderberry bushes thrive? I have lots
of
space for it to spread. Is it a good idea or not? Sunny location.

Marilyn in Ohio (zone 5/6)

They also grow well over old landfill dump areas. When I was a kid I
used to collect old bottles and an area of Elderberry trees used to be a
good clue to there having been an old dump in that area.

The berries can be used to make wine although I've never tried it. And
of course those familiar with Monty Python's Holy Grail will know that
it's part of the Frenchmans taunt.

David J Bockman wrote:

It's tough to keep neat, tending to form massive, unkempt colonies.
Nevertheless, those fruits sure are prized by a wide variety of wildlife,
and I think it's gorgeous in flower. They tend to do best in wet areas.

Dave

"Allview" wrote in message
...

In November I had a big spruce tree cut down and replaced it with a lot of
topsoil and whatever dormant bushes I could find at the local nurseries.

I

always intended to plant bushes for the birds but could find no berry

bushes.

Guess the birds will appreciate the cover. There is a large space at one

end

of this new garden and I would like to plant an elderberry as soon as I

can.

Will I be sorry? Do nursery grown elderberry bushes thrive? I have lots

of

space for it to spread. Is it a good idea or not? Sunny location.

Marilyn in Ohio (zone 5/6)

There is a large space at one end
of this new garden and I would like to plant an elderberry as soon as I can.
Will I be sorry? Do nursery grown elderberry bushes thrive? I have lots of
space for it to spread. Is it a good idea or not? Sunny location.

Marilyn in Ohio (zone 5/6)


Marilyln

American Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis: spreading, suckering to 12 ft tall
and wide. rampant, fast growing, wild looking. Treat as you would a fast
growing spirea: prune hard during dormant season, cut out older and strems
and head back last year's growth to a few inches. Overgrown plants can be cut
back to the ground.
There is a cultivar available now that has dark purple foliage, very pretty,
(and probably very expensive!)
Emilie

In article eBzzd.7124$hc7.6393@trnddc06, "David J Bockman"
wrote:

It's tough to keep neat, tending to form massive, unkempt colonies.
Nevertheless, those fruits sure are prized by a wide variety of wildlife,
and I think it's gorgeous in flower. They tend to do best in wet areas.

Dave

Mine remain tidy, though there are so many species with so many cultivars
generalities are difficult. Of the European elderberry cultivars, I have
'Purpurea' & 'Black Beauty' as cross-pollinating companions. They are fast
growing but surprisingly tidy shrubs that require no attention to flower
gorgeously. When 'Purpurea' lived alone it did not fruit much, but now
that it lives with 'Black Beauty' it gets covered with fruit. I rarely
water them, & they are not bothered by our dry summers (the rest of the
year they get all the rain they need). Our Pacific Red Elderberry is more
tree than shrub & not tidy; it's a native that arrived in the garden as a
volunteer & is now as tall as our two-story house; most of its growth is
overhead & it has formed a really nice natural bower over the path, with a
huge sword-fern at its foot.

"Allview" wrote in message
...
In November I had a big spruce tree cut down and replaced it with a lot of
topsoil and whatever dormant bushes I could find at the local nurseries.
I
always intended to plant bushes for the birds but could find no berry
bushes.
Guess the birds will appreciate the cover. There is a large space at one
end
of this new garden and I would like to plant an elderberry as soon as I
can.
Will I be sorry? Do nursery grown elderberry bushes thrive? I have lots
of
space for it to spread. Is it a good idea or not? Sunny location.

Marilyn in Ohio (zone 5/6)

Elderberry cultivars are among the hardiest things on earth. In some
conditions they can be aggressive & troublesome & become 15 foot trees in
only two years, but that's mainly the wild elderberries; the cultivars are
more restrained, many remain compact bushes adaptable to sun or shade, dry
or wet conditions. Here's an article on the Mythology of Black Elderberry:
http://www.paghat.com/elderberrymyths.html
with links to pages about growing black elderberry & Pacific red elderberry.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

If planted next to an area that is being mown don't worry about then
spreading. It's just not something that happens all that fast. If you
wan't berries for yourself plant a mix of "Adams" and "Johns". There is
a cutleaf variety also that makes plenty of berries but I don't know
it's name. They are a good plant for moist areas.

"Allview" wrote in message
...
In November I had a big spruce tree cut down and replaced it with a lot of
topsoil and whatever dormant bushes I could find at the local nurseries.
I
always intended to plant bushes for the birds but could find no berry
bushes.
Guess the birds will appreciate the cover. There is a large space at one
end
of this new garden and I would like to plant an elderberry as soon as I
can.
Will I be sorry? Do nursery grown elderberry bushes thrive? I have lots
of
space for it to spread. Is it a good idea or not? Sunny location.

Marilyn in Ohio (zone 5/6)

Ornamental forms of Sambucus nigra or racemosa (European elders) seem to be
the most gardenworthy with more restrained growth habits and typically very
appealing foliage coloring (gold, various purples and variegated forms) than
the native caerulea or canadensis. Even some of these can grow to
appreciable size but can be coppiced annually to keep size in check and
intensify foliage coloring. All species are suckering shrubs so expect some
spreading via this habit. IME, they do not need a pair to produce berries -
my 'Sutherlands Gold' is a prodigious berrier - but not all will produce as
abundantly, particularly those with dark foliage like 'Guincho Purple' or
'Black Beauty' or the highly variegated 'Pulverulenta', which seldom even
produces flowers, let alone fruit.

pam - gardengal

"Allview" wrote:
In November I had a big spruce tree cut down and replaced it with a lot of
topsoil and whatever dormant bushes I could find at the local nurseries.
I always intended to plant bushes for the birds but could find no berry
bushes.
Marilyn in Ohio (zone 5/6)

My experience is with wild elderberry. We enjoy it very much and so do
the birds. We also planted mahonia, red twig dogwood and yellow twig
dogwood for the birds. One plant that is often overlooked for birds is
Bradford Pear. We have 3 Bradford Pear trees. They stay relatively
small and are covered with thousands of cherry size pears in the fall
when the leaves fall off. After they go through a freeze, the birds
love them.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

Elderberries can also be used to make a wonderful jelly and still leave
plenty of berries for the birds. Very high in vitamen "C" among
others.

Hemma

Thanks very much to all of you. I have saved the information and will have all
the varieties, etc. when I get one (or two if necessary). Maybe I will order
bushes on line and have them shipped at the appropriate time.

I have made elderberry jelly from wild berries and love it, but I might feel
guilty using so many for myself. I will not pass up making at least one pie.
When I moved into a house with a mulberry tree in the yard, I made a pie but
they are not nearly as good as elderberries.

Thanks for the help.
Marilyn

We have 3 Bradford Pear trees. They stay relatively small and are covered
with thousands of cherry size pears in the fall
when the leaves fall off. After they go through a freeze, the birds love
them.

Your Bradfords (a "sterile" variety) have begun to cross pollinate with
other "sterile" varieties introduced by gardeners, and have now become a
noxious, invasive old-field species all over the mid-Atlantic region. Just
look at the roadsides next time you go thru the DC area, and thank the
birds.

Please take no offense to this, but people / organizations doing releases
of novel species and cultivars for the amenity market really need to take
more responsibility for ecological imperatives that such releases create,
e.g. Loosestrife, Bradford pear, Norway maple, Ailanthus, etc. an nauseum.
ML
--
Mike LaMana, MS, CTE
Consulting Forester & Arborist
Heartwood Consulting Services, LLC
Toms River, NJ
www.HeartwoodConsulting.net

I need a hedging that does not grow too high and gives privacy in the winter. Would elderberry do? or do the leaves fall off in winter?
thanks,
sara.

I need a hedging that does not grow too high and gives privacy in the winter. Would elderberry do? or do the leaves fall off in winter?
I'm in Northern Ireland
thanks,
sara.

I make elderberry wine from bushes growning wild on our property. I also
make a blend of 80% Concord grapes and 20% elderberries; the elderberries
add a lot of depth to the taste. If you're interested, details are at

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rbfarm/eldrwine.html

Paul