Cut & paste from an older post of mine... Common elderberry, AKA American black elederberry, (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis), is native to the Eastern U.S. and grows as a bush to 6-8 feet. The European elderberry, Sambucus nigra, is more upright/tree-like, but about the same height. These both have dark purple berries. There is also Sambucus nigra subsp. cerulea, which has blue berries and is native to the West -- I've never seen one. There is also a completely different species, Sambucus racemosa, that has poisonous red berries (not purple or blue) that are NOT edible due to higher levels of cyanide (not sure if OK after cooking). For common elderberries, fruit quality depends on cultivar, although even the "ornamental" cultivars produce usable fruit. It's recommended to cook them due to cyanide content -- the toxicity is low, but eating the raw fruit can cause nausea (how much it takes varies person to person). Cooked berries are safe and make great jelly, syrup, and wine. The flower clusters can be fried.

RE: The unset jelly (nice syrup though?) Well I happened to speak to my Mother in law and she explained to me that sure-jell and regular fruit pectin should not be used interchangeably- which is why the sure-jell recipe only needed 4 1/2 cups sugar per 3 cups juice and the pectin recipe called for 7 cups sugar/3 cups juice. Needless to say I did not have sure-jell but will definately have it next time. The recipe I used did contain 1/2 cup lemon juice though. The only possible problems I can think of is 1. I thought I had 6-8qt pot (the biggest dutch oven type that comes in kitchen sets?) and the recipe said add pectin and boil hard one minute, stirring constantly. The only problem? Every time it boiled hard it boiled ALL OVER (still getting it out of my burners!) So I was letting it get boiling good at just at the point of going over, picking it up off stove for a second or two. 2.I was also unsure how to keep jars hot enough as I don't own dishwasher so I put them in oven in a pan with a couple inches of water in the bottom of it- set it to 200° but when I took the jars out there was condensation in them so they weren't "dry"- does this factor in at all or is that ok? I couldn't think of any way to dry them fast enough to pour jelly in without getting burned or having it cool too fast.

You know I have only one American type, and it doesn't do well, go figure? Who the heck knows?? I'll tell you all I can. It is between houses so it only receives about half a day, maybe slightly more of sun. In ground, we have a clay loam with a pH of about 6.5. It is very nice soil. Every spring I put bagged composted manure around it. I put a small amount of Dynamite control release fertilizer. And once a month use an organic. Usually Holly-Tone. I fertilize my grass with Milorganite, so it probably takes that up too. It is now approved for garden use, but I only use it on my grass. I grow over 20 different fruits and veggies. Not worried if some gets in the garden. I mulch with leaves or straw, but often I scatter it with the lawn mower. It needs more right now. I should clear more of the grass around the plants. If I left the 2nd year canes I could probably get a bigger yield. But I'm good with the 5 pounds or so I get. Going back to the subject of this thread, the thought came to me that maybe in Florida it's nematodes, as the state is notorious for having them. The kind you don't want. Maybe that was covered already? I heard tomatoes are hard to grow there because of the nematodes, and maybe elderberries are susceptible to them? I don't know? Some plants are not. I cannot grow blueberries in my soil. The west side of the state is all sand and that is where the pH is low and they grow them. I'm on the east side. I do grow blueberries but in containers, and raised beds filled with pine bark and peat. I use sulfuric acid to lower pH of tap water, but usually use rainwater (pH of 4.7) for my blueberries. I have 10 plants. Most of the other elderberries I grow are ornamental. I grow a variegated euro, Black Lace, and Black Beauty. All do very well here in ground.

I haven't been able to determine the variety, but it's OK, I think I'm going to try to salvage it either way. It's an impromptu choice that I usually avoid, BUT!! 1. My girlfriend buys elderberry supplements, so it might save some money in the long run; 2. They're all pretty as a backdrop; 3. I'll need something there, anyway; 4. They obviously do well here with little or no maintenance; and 5. If wildlife love them, @Old Forester ( Zones 8a-6a ) Ga/NC, then it might be a nice recovery for all of the saplings I'll be cutting down this Winter. I think that I've mowed over this plant a thousand times over the years, thinking it was a weed, so it DESERVES a little love!! LOL Now I'm going to go on the hunt to find 9 more, so I can create a hedge to cover about a 100' stretch. It's a challenge because they look a lot like the blackberry vines that are everywhere, but right now the blackberries have flowers so I should have a few weeks where these will be more obvious. @Old Forester ( Zones 8a-6a ) Ga/NC, do you think it would be OK to put them all in containers or (better) a temporary garden, and then transplant them next Spring? My plan is to cut out a ton of saplings this Winter (waiting for hummingbirds to leave for the season) to replace them with fruit and nut trees, and this new hedge would go around the outer perimeter of where those saplings currently are.