Elderberry

[Bassattackr]

Just ordered a few Elderberry bushes from Nativ Nurseries, shipping at the end of the month. Planting on a sunny upland side along a field edge to better screen from a road.

Anyone have any experiences with them? Tips for planting?

I plan on planting them with a T post and 3' dia cage.

 

[willy]

You get them established, you'll have a good source of cuttings for more plantings. They seem to do well as cuttings in my heavy clay. I don't know if you have to cage them. I have a high deer density where I've planted some and they have been able to withstand the pressure. I've got a bunch of cuttings in water right now and will plant when I see the white bumps sticking out on stems.

Easy to plant. Just follow the planting tips that I'm sure will come with the plants and you'll be fine. Once established, the birds and other animals will be planting them all over for you.

 

[Da U.P. 'eh]

I have found that they need to be caged at least until they get above browse level. The deer love them and eat them up!

 

[ruskbucks]

They are one of the easiest to establish thru cuttings. They grow fast, I would say 6 ft in two years. In WI they seem to like the wetter lowland areas but will do good in other higher spots. One they are established you can uncage them, I have cut them with the brush hog and they bounce back strong. The deer like the berries in summer and the twigs in fall/ winter, looks like they might browse the leaves also. Great shrub.

 

[chummer]

Not saying they won’t grow there but I have a lot of them growing naturally and they are all in low damp spots. If they don’t work check out ninebark. Elderberries are mostly a single stem plant. Not great for a screen, but deer do love them. Ninebark hold their leaves a lot longer and turn into a super shrub that can withstand heavy browsing.

 

[H20fwler]

I planted a bunch of them a few years ago and the deer ate some to the ground and have set the rest back and I don't think I'm considered high deer density at all. I would protect them, next time I do it I'm going to plant some in a little grove maybe 12' to 16' across and fence them in until they get bigger then plant cuttings from them and move the fence over to new spot.
I'm going to try my little grove fence theory out with plums, chokeberry, ninebark and indian current too to get them established good. It has worked good for white pines for us in a couple spots just using old farm fence for protection.

 

[rocksnstumps]

As you can imagine, lots of studies done on the deer browse question. One study built small enclosures using just 4 ft high fence. I believe that up to 20 x 20 feet was likely too confining for the deer and they would not jump inside (except for one outlier deer which couldn't resist all the tasty trees inside) It was done by some WI researcher awhile back but maybe I can find and verify the "small" factor to stay within for size.

 

[Bill]

I’ll chime in also. My experience with elderberry is they like low shady spots. They need protection at first. But once the roots are established you can’t kill them.

I understand the single stem thing. But if you cut an established elderberry to the ground it will root sucker like crazy.
Not my choice for road screen. Leaves fall to soon.

 

[Bassattackr]

Great responses, thanks! I will keep the cages on them for a year or so just to be safe.

I'm also trying to establish a buffer of switchgrass/IG along this same road maybe 20-30 yards wide. Perhaps with the Elderberry it will be a mixed screen of sorts. Bill - I was worried about the leaf loss in the fall as you mention.

Hoping this a good suckering bush vs a tree as they grow. Can anyone confirm this?

Elderberry is supposedly good cover for quail. Ordered these as I haven't been able to get Chickasaw plum. Fingers crossed..

 

[Troubles Trees]

I planted 25 from our DEC nursery and didn't think about the location I planted being full sun. My Mom was helping me weed things on the hill and mentioned that she always found them growing as an understory tree near creeks or low wetland spots (not standing water). The more I thought about it, we were always in shady areas when picking them for Mom's wine. The 25 I planted didn't make it through last summer, it was very dry here so my guess is that full sun and/or dry area was the issue.

 

[Bassattackr]

I planted 25 from our DEC nursery and didn't think about the location I planted being full sun. My Mom was helping me weed things on the hill and mentioned that she always found them growing as an understory tree near creeks or low wetland spots (not standing water). The more I thought about it, we were always in shady areas when picking them for Mom's wine. The 25 I planted didn't make it through last summer, it was very dry here so my guess is that full sun and/or dry area was the issue.

Good to know, I may rethink my location on a couple then.. Thanks.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Great responses, thanks! I will keep the cages on them for a year or so just to be safe.

I'm also trying to establish a buffer of switchgrass/IG along this same road maybe 20-30 yards wide. Perhaps with the Elderberry it will be a mixed screen of sorts. Bill - I was worried about the leaf loss in the fall as you mention.

Hoping this a good suckering bush vs a tree as they grow. Can anyone confirm this?

Elderberry is supposedly good cover for quail. Ordered these as I haven't been able to get Chickasaw plum. Fingers crossed..

Try Kansas State nursery for chickasaw plums

I got 50 from them 3 years ago . I used them to subdivide a large plot. They suckered well and quickly. Produced at second year

bill

 

[ruskbucks]

Great responses, thanks! I will keep the cages on them for a year or so just to be safe.

I'm also trying to establish a buffer of switchgrass/IG along this same road maybe 20-30 yards wide. Perhaps with the Elderberry it will be a mixed screen of sorts. Bill - I was worried about the leaf loss in the fall as you mention.

Hoping this a good suckering bush vs a tree as they grow. Can anyone confirm this?

Elderberry is supposedly good cover for quail. Ordered these as I haven't been able to get Chickasaw plum. Fingers crossed..

Yes they sucker like crazy. Although they don't throw many branches horizontally, they will grow10-20 shoots off one plant. They can get so thick you can't walk thru a patch of them. Once they are established just take cuttings and stick them right back in the ground in the spring before bud break. I will take a ride in the back and get you some pictures.

 

[ruskbucks]

Yes they sucker like crazy. Although they don't throw many branches horizontally, they will grow10-20 shoots off one plant. They can get so thick you can't walk thru a patch of them. Once they are established just take cuttings and stick them right back in the ground in the spring before bud break. I will take a ride in the back and get you some pictures.

 

[Bill]

Hoping this a good suckering bush vs a tree as they grow. Can anyone confirm this?

For sure a shrub and not a tree. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one over 10 foot tall and we have plenty in my neighborhood.

 

[Tree Spud]

I’ll chime in also. My experience with elderberry is they like low shady spots. They need protection at first. But once the roots are established you can’t kill them.

I understand the single stem thing. But if you cut an established elderberry to the ground it will root sucker like crazy.
Not my choice for road screen. Leaves fall to soon.

When do you cut to the ground? Dormant or while growing?

 

[Bill]

When do you cut to the ground? Dormant or while growing?

I’ve always done it when their dormant. I’ve cut them to the ground for cuttings and planted some big diameter cuttings.
one year my brother had his deer early and I was done trying so I took and planted Elderberry cuttings in November. Figured they would dry out and die before spring, they actually made it..

 

[Bassattackr]

Awesome info! Great resource here on HT

 

[chummer]

Those elderberries put mine to shame. How busy is this road you are screening? You don’t want to be drawing the deer near the road with stuff the eat. Spruce might be a better option.

 

[Bassattackr]

Those elderberries put mine to shame. How busy is this road you are screening? You don’t want to be drawing the deer near the road with stuff the eat. Spruce might be a better option.

Not terribly busy. There's a lot more preferable foods in the field.. clover, soybeans, etc.