This week: Uncommonly Useful Common Elderberry
Hello!
This week, Common Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is in bloom. This native shrub is a wonderful addition to an edible garden and is recommended for naturalized areas, rain gardens, and riparian buffers—it reduces erosion and provides shade along the water’s edge.
In June, this big shrub (at least 10 feet tall and wide) is blanketed with clusters of white flowers (technically called cymes). During the summer, these flowers turn into bunches of elderberry fruits. In the fall, the foliage turns yellow.
Common Elderberry is not a low-maintenance plant in the residential landscape. It should be pruned significantly every two or three years to control its large size and improve its longevity. One-third of the largest (oldest) canes should be cut a few inches from the ground, and its height can be reduced by half.
Another maintenance challenge is its highly successful reproduction strategies. It sends out suckers from the base of the plant to form a colony. Also, it can create new plants via layering—if one branch flops to the ground, it will root in place. While this is wonderful for erosion control and naturalized settings, it can quickly get out of hand in small spaces.
When shopping for Common Elderberry, always check your plant tags for the term ‘canadensis.’ Confusingly, sometimes native Elderberry is listed as Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis, but plants labeled Sambucus nigra are not native—that’s European Elderberry. Sambucus racemosa, or Red Elderberry, is also not native.
Elderberry for Edible Gardens
The flowers can be collected and made into an elderflower liqueur (like St-Germain). The berries can be made into jams, jellies, and pies (always cook them—raw berries have unpleasant-to-dangerous side effects). Elderberries are also a homeopathic remedy for immunity support (think Sambucol).
The roots of this plant in the Americas date back to a thousand years before the common era, and native peoples used it for food, weaving, dyes, musical instruments, and more. European Elderberry has just as many folk uses. One intriguing legend surrounding Elderberry suggested that planting one near the home warded off evil spirits and that one should say a blessing when pruning, lest it spawn a witch. So, definitely take care when pruning, just in case.
Wildlife Benefits
In addition to being a larval host plant and a food source for beneficial insects, Elderberry is a boon for birds. Songbirds enjoy the berries and use the shrub for nests, and game birds like pheasants and quail use the shrub for cover.
Elsewhere:
It’s that time of year when I survey local big box stores for native perennials, shrubs, and trees. I do this to track the popularity and availability of native plants. If we want to save the planet with gardens, native plants must be so ubiquitous that you can’t help but buy them, even by accident. I was surprised to find cultivars of native Ostrich Fern, Lady Fern, Little Bluestem, Switchgrass, and my all-time favorite, Amsonia hubrectii at a local Lowes—progress! Check out my findings on bloomstobees.com.
Have a good week,
Julie