J-birds place

[Bill]

You can prune that thing to the ground and it will sprout like crazy. The nice thing about pruning is the new shoots are nice and straight and make for good cuttings. I experimented one November and took elderberry cuttings and just poked them in the ground the same day (into ground cover). They sprouted in the spring.

I took 3 to NJ and have them in the yard. They are 3 years old and only get about 4 feet tall before the deer eat them almost to the ground.

I like them, and your right they seem to prefer the bottom of the hill over the top of the hill where it's dry.

 

[j-bird]

You can prune that thing to the ground and it will sprout like crazy. The nice thing about pruning is the new shoots are nice and straight and make for good cuttings. I experimented one November and took elderberry cuttings and just poked them in the ground the same day (into ground cover). They sprouted in the spring.

I took 3 to NJ and have them in the yard. They are 3 years old and only get about 4 feet tall before the deer eat them almost to the ground.

I like them, and your right they seem to prefer the bottom of the hill over the top of the hill where it's dry.

I'll hack on one this fall/winter and see how it responds and see how the cuttings work out. I assume cuttings on these are like willow cuttings as well, as you want that years growth? I have a couple large ones like this and I notice on them all the lower limbs are bare. I don't know if that is because of browsing or just the way they naturally grow.

 

[Bill]

I assume cuttings on these are like willow cuttings as well, as you want that years growth?

Not sure but that's what I used.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

J-Bird - - - We have elderberry at camp by way of birds pooping seeds. As it gets older, the bottoms of the plants get " leggy " - more bare of leaves. The leaves are more at the tops of the bushes. Deer browse it, birds of all kinds eat the berries, and any that droop down low enough will be a treat for foxes & coons. Birds will probably help spread them for you.

They make a good pie, wine, or jam. Check around for recipes on the web. Lots of nutrient goodies in the berries.

 

[j-bird]

J-Bird - - - We have elderberry at camp by way of birds pooping seeds. As it gets older, the bottoms of the plants get " leggy " - more bare of leaves. The leaves are more at the tops of the bushes. Deer browse it, birds of all kinds eat the berries, and any that droop down low enough will be a treat for foxes & coons. Birds will probably help spread them for you.

They make a good pie, wine, or jam. Check around for recipes on the web. Lots of nutrient goodies in the berries.

To be honest these are not something I have not paid much attention to. They were just there. Now that I know what they are I will watch them more closely. I really want to get these growing in a few areas where I think they will do well as I like the idea of them being a great browse plant and a shrub which I don't tend to have much of. It's funny how we walk by stuff all the time and never really notice it or stop long enough to ask questions. That was/is the case with this plant. Fortunately it was something good and by knowing that I can help improve my habitat or maybe give it a little push in the right direction.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Thanks for sharing, made it through the tread, its fun to see the timeline of progression in 15min of reading. Evolving growth in both the land and manager.

 

[John-W-WI]

I'll try to get some cuttings from it and may even "prune" it back to get more of that browse in the deer's reach. I have several of these so I will try one first and see how it goes.

Don't hesitate to give it a haircut. Late winter / early spring you can cut it down to the ground (leave about 18" of the original plant). It will grow back like a beast. They get woody and appreciate a trim every once in a while. Your deer will thank you.

-John

 

[j-bird]

Thanks for sharing, made it through the tread, its fun to see the timeline of progression in 15min of reading. Evolving growth in both the land and manager.

It's been a long journey from where it started but I'm pretty pleased thus far. I have learned a lot along the way and have taken on projects that without the support, help and encouragement from follow forum members I would have never have tried on my own. I update often more for my own reference than anything - I have already went back to see how or when I did something. I figured if I can help or encourage other folks along the way then everybody wins. I doubt I ever grow a B&C buck, but that really isn't my goal anyway. I like the work and makes the taking of a deer even that much more rewarding. I'm glad you liked what you saw.

 

[j-bird]

Don't hesitate to give it a haircut. Late winter / early spring you can cut it down to the ground (leave about 18" of the original plant). It will grow back like a beast. They get woody and appreciate a trim every once in a while. Your deer will thank you.

-John

Will do - like I said the one I took a picture of is 10 feet tall or so and most everything within deer reach is bare. I have a few of these and I'll use one to take cutting from and trim it back pretty good and see how it responds. May even just do half of one to demonstrate the difference as an interesting little visual. I just never paid it much attention and turns out it's something pretty good, so now I need to do a better job promoting it and making it available to the deer.

 

[John-W-WI]

Will do - like I said the one I took a picture of is 10 feet tall or so and most everything within deer reach is bare. I have a few of these and I'll use one to take cutting from and trim it back pretty good and see how it responds. May even just do half of one to demonstrate the difference as an interesting little visual. I just never paid it much attention and turns out it's something pretty good, so now I need to do a better job promoting it and making it available to the deer.

When I bought my place 10+ years ago, I don't believe I had any (or very few if I did). Now that I have them growing in the fenced in nursery, the birds are planting them all over my farm. I found a few new patches this spring that certainly didn't exist in the past. I hope the birds keep up the good work!

-John

 

[Turkey Creek]

They do make a nice yard plant as well. Nice foliage and they smell good as well when they are in bloom.

 

[j-bird]

They do make a nice yard plant as well. Nice foliage and they smell good as well when they are in bloom.

Nope - not in the yard....more crap to mow around. I'm more of a "mow over it" vs "mow around it" sort of guy!

 

[j-bird]

When I bought my place 10+ years ago, I don't believe I had any (or very few if I did). Now that I have them growing in the fenced in nursery, the birds are planting them all over my farm. I found a few new patches this spring that certainly didn't exist in the past. I hope the birds keep up the good work!

-John

That's cool - my birds bring me jap bush honeysuckle from the neighbors!!!! I'm sure mine have expanded over time, I just haven't really noticed and I do have a good spot in mind where they should grow well and help thicken the understory in a sanctuary area I have. I'm sure these I am seeing now got a huge push from the logging and the new sunlight as well. They may have been there all along and just been fairly suppressed. Funny how we don't see things and then .....ta da!

 

[KDdid]

[QUOTE="j-bird, post: 145296, member: 53 Funny how we don't see things and then .....ta da![/QUOTE]
And I'm betting that everywhere you go these days, you are noticing the white elderberry flowers along the roads too. I started pointing them out to my wife on the farm, and we made a game of spotting them on a recent trip to Indianapolis. There's a stretch along I-69 near the Muncie exit where the overhead high voltage towers parallel the highway. Underneath every tower, between the four legs is a clump of elderberry. Probably some convenient perches for birds pooping seeds...

 

[j-bird]

Project MG has taken another small step.....I think. I will have to confirm with my sources, but I think this is a positive sign. Sorry the one pic is blurry.

Most of my cuttings are showing some sort of life. They either have signs of roots or a green "horn". Looks like I may be potting some cuttings soon......

 

[j-bird]

[QUOTE="j-bird, post: 145296, member: 53 Funny how we don't see things and then .....ta da!

And I'm betting that everywhere you go these days, you are noticing the white elderberry flowers along the roads too. I started pointing them out to my wife on the farm, and we made a game of spotting them on a recent trip to Indianapolis. There's a stretch along I-69 near the Muncie exit where the overhead high voltage towers parallel the highway. Underneath every tower, between the four legs is a clump of elderberry. Probably some convenient perches for birds pooping seeds...[/QUOTE]
Yep - I do that with invasives like JG and JBH all the time.....my wife doesn't care though....she just thinks I'm weird!!!!

 

[j-bird]

Letting the MG cutting soak another week per Bill's advice......

 

[j-bird]

Well I didn't get much habitat work done over the holiday, but did enjoy the weekend.

We went to my folks place and did the grilling, fishing, swimming and fireworks thing.
Emma caught her first catfish. You listen to her talk you would have sworn it was a monster shark! She did get a lesson on "playing the fish" as she wanted to just horse it in, but this channel cat had other ideas in the early going.

I got lots of bush-hogging done. And I broke the lawn mower! Not sure what I did, but it has developed a significant vibration... it will go to the mower doctor yet this week. I did pick up a new trail cam (a cheapy from Rural king) so we should be getting some cam pics soon as well. The deer are really hammering the red clover and the summer plots look good with a nice kill from the gly application.

On the fourth itself - we celebrated "Merica"!!!! My boys buddy brought out his AR in 5.56 and they shot the crap out of jugs of water. Emma wants to know if we can use one of these for deer hunting!!!! For right now 5.56 isn't legal here.

We wrapped up the day with some grilling at the house of some ribs and corn on the cob on the grill. The kids thought I was nuts for cooking corn on the grill.....it was a big hit and has been requested for the next time.

The MG cuttings are doing well and maybe even be ready for planting..... as most seem to have decent roots and a "horn" forming as well. I don't have a recent pic of them.....

 

[Bill]

Looks like fun!
Tell Emma it doesn't kick but lean into it anyway :)

 

[Catscratch]

Great holiday break for you guys! Fireworks, grilling, fishing, and guns. It doesn't get any better than that.

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