Elderberry Cuttings

[hilltopper]

With the late spring my elderberry plants are just barely starting to leaf out. Can I do cuttings now or do they have to be completely dormant?

 

[Bill]

Never tried but I bet it would still work. I wouldn't do hundreds but I wouldn't be afraid to try a few.

 

[John-W-WI]

Elderberry are notorious early starters. Especially on good soil they wake up before most others.

It's been my experience that they still do fine if harvested after the buds start to wake up. How long after they wake up is hard to say. I bet you'll be fine.

-John

 

[Davewp]

does diameter of cutting have a bearing of success

 

[Bill]

I've had success with elderberry up to 1.5 inches in diameter. But like anything it depends on the moisture we get. Never tried larger so???

 

[John-W-WI]

does diameter of cutting have a bearing of success

Not really. Elderberry can grow a lot in a single season. 1 or 2 year old wood will root just fine. That can mean 1 or 2 inch in diameter.

The most important part is that every cutting has a minimum of 2 bud pairs. More pairs is better, but 2 pairs are a minimum or they will not grow.

-John

 

[hilltopper]

Ok. Greenhorn question. Will I have success just planting them in damp ground, or do I need to root them with rooting powder in a starter soil mixture? Or in water? I have an unlimited supply of cuttings so I can afford a moderate success rate.

 

[Bill]

Ok. Greenhorn question. Will I have success just planting them in damp ground, or do I need to root them with rooting powder in a starter soil mixture? Or in water? I have an unlimited supply of cuttings so I can afford a moderate success rate.

I use rooting hormone on everything except willows and poplars. I can't say it wouldn't work but rooting hormone has always been recommended to me on everything else.

 

[H20fwler]

I have to try some of those next spring.....my 2019 spring wish list keeps getting longer!

 

[Catscratch]

I did some cuttings a couple of weeks ago. As you can see in the first pic they had already leaved out and those leaved died right away.

I just checked on them and cut them back, several have fresh growth. I've never used hormone on elderberry and have success before. I have no idea if these will make it but it looks promising right now.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[TreeDaddy]

"Life will find a way".....
Jurassic Park 1993

bill

 

[hilltopper]

Thanks for all the replies. That's what's really great about this forum- you can get informed answers pretty quickly. I planted some cuttings yesterday. Not a lot, as everything here has to be protected. I'll let you know how they do.

I'm going to start another thread about creating thickets with larger exclosures.