I had taken a short break from ‘berry gardening’ but decided today was the perfect day to revisit on of my favorite topics. Don’t ask me why, I just did! LOL. I think the last posts I shared were on how to grow kiwi berries and how to grow honeyberries. Next, on the list is going to be how to grow elderberries.
Sambucus are a genus of flowering plants in the Adoxaceae family and you’ll be surprised that they are actually native to many areas within the United States. It is recommended that you plant the bushes in pairs, but make sure they are at most 60 feet apart, this will help them cross pollinate and result in more fruit being produced. The bushes can grow up to 12 feet tall and six feet across, allow them plenty of space to thrive. These berries can be used for canning jelly or jam, baking a pie, concocting a tincture to fight colds and flu.
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Here’s What You’ll Need:
- elderberry cutting or seedling
- compost
- manure
- ammonium nitrate fertilizer
- mulch (optional)
- pruning shears
The ideal location for your plant would be one that gets partial shade, preferably cool as well as moist too, with a pH of 5.5 to 6.6. Make sure that there is adequate drainage or you may encounter problems with your roots rotting. Just make sure that you have a lot of space between your plants, if there is a lot of air circulation in between them they tend to be better able to fight of diseases. If you are not planting a young bush, then opt for propagating a cutting instead.
Plant after the last frost, keep well watered during the first few months. As for fertilizer, you can apply manure or compost. Ammonium Nitrate can also be applied every year in the Spring, after the first year. Harvest your berries when they are dark purple or black by clipping clusters with a pair of pruning shears. The trick is to try harvest your berries before the birds do. 🙂
You can get more information on the Gardeners Path blog, here…
You can watch the video below on Growing Elderberries…
You can watch the video below on How to Grow Hundreds of Elderberry Plants for a few bucks …
You can watch the video below on Growing Elderberries from Seed or Cuttings?…
