Elderberry is a traditional jam, jelly and pie fruit, whose most special trait is that it both takes on and brings out the flavor of other fruits, but it also stands alone quite well in jams, jellies and as a wine.

Many of our butterfly species here (including the Yellow Swallowtail) care about the American Black Elderberry for a very different reason – it’s large, welcoming flower umbels (sometimes a 10-12 inches across in size). Early summer is a time for many of the larger butterflies to emerge or migrate northward, and Elderberry is a welcome sight for these spectacular creatures.

Sambucus canadensis is also quite attractive as a foliage plant, and with it’s stems having an almost palm-like nature. The quick growing branches (green throughout most, if not all, of their first year) also make for a very lush habit, and excellent protection for the birds which will feed off the mid-summer berries.

Care:

American Black Elderberry loves moist soil. It happily tolerates very heavy clay, as long as it can access water regularly. Here they thrive along water channels, just below a small natural spring that the ducks and chickens enjoy (undoubtedly helping to spread the seed from the berries, which must be ingested to germinate), and in low-lying areas. This is a great rain garden shrub, that is also flexible enough to perform pretty well in moderate moisture soils.

 The main task in caring for Elderberry is to cut it back each year once it matures (usually after it’s 2nd year of establishment), if you wish to contain it’s size and/or reach all of it’s fruit. In the most ideal conditions (moist, draining location with full sun), it grows incredibly quick. One of our Elderberry bushes is cut back to 3 feet tall in the spring, and still grows to about 10 feet tall by mid-summer. Cutting Elderberry back yearly does not prevent it from flowering or fruiting, as it will happily produce flower umbels on new growth. It is not essential to cut it back either for production or health, as this is a matter of preference.