elderberry soil toxicity

19 years ago

i've been told elderberry bushes affect surrounding soil to the extent other types of plants will not do well (much like black walnut) -

old wives tale or fact?

thanks !

Featured Answer

elder

19 years ago

When dealimng with things biological - NEVER SAY NEVER, NEVER SAY ALWAYS . I have a stand of american elderberries and growing in and alongside are quite a variety of plants: barberry, physostegia, tomato, grass, silver dollar, etc., etc. There is an old British myth that if you sleep under an elderberry tree you will receive a narcotic effect from the fragrance emmited by the plant; this same fragrance is said to be fatal to other plants. Perhaps this is where the idea came from.
Of course, next will be an email from an expert with the USDA and it will state unequivicolly(sp)that plants will either not grow under elderberry, or their growth will be retarded, and in which case I will have to go outside and tell all those plants that they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.....Elder
.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

reinbeaux
19 years ago
Elderberry stems and roots contain cyanide so I would say true. I grow all of mine in containers - probably could google it and find out more information
Related Discussions
Testing soil for toxic substances?
Q
Comments (7)
It is never an issue having concerns about these matters - forewarned is forearmed - but it is also helpful to keep them in the proper perspective. Virtually all pesticides and synthetic fertilizers breakdown into mostly harmless elemental components over time, however there may be some buld-up of heavy metals and these would be what you might want to test for - lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, etc. All these exist naturally in the environment and some are even necessary as trace elements. It is the dosage or concentrations, which, if too high, can create problems. Some soil test labs test regularly for the presence of heavy metals and others require it as a separate test (aside from the basics). If your extension service does not offer this type of test (and many do not), they should be able to direct you to a lab that does. Or you can Google for soil testing labs in your area and inquire directly. I've included one link to PA area soil testing labs. Unfortunately, there is not a lot you can do about pollution. Airborn particles go where they go. Runoff from roads can leach various pollutants into ditches, streams and groundwater but again, there's not a lot you can do about it other than constructing swales along any roads adjacent to your property that can filter out many of the pollutants before they reach groundwater. The old pressure treated woods leach toxins at a very low rate and I doubt your deck is creating much of an issue. There is a much greater concern if the treated lumber was used to construct retaining walls or raised beds that might contain planting areas, especially edible plants, but support posts are most likely encased in concrete to provide structural integrity and that would prevent direct leaching into the ground. You very likely have a greater exposure to the toxins just from walking on the deck or handling the railings, etc. Painting, staining or sealing the deck wood would contain a lot of this potential also but check out the environmentally safe brands of these products. And not all decks are constructed from PTL or the type of PTL that is considered hazardous for just these reasons. Newer treated lumber (post 2002) is considered "safe". One thing to keep in mind is that compost is an excellent neutralizer and is ofen used to remediate contaminated soil situations. Start your own composting operation and start applying it liberally. It will a) improve soil fertility, structure and drainage, b) encourage the organisms that contribute to a healthy soil and c)go a long way to improving or removing potential contaminates. Here is a link that might be useful: Pennsylvania soil testing labs
...See More
Toxic soil in Hollywood?
Q
Comments (4)
Hi Tofustud (great handle!), I don't know anything about soils, but I believe you can send off a sample of your soil to have it tested for a nominal cost. You can also take a big scoop off the surface of your soil, put it into a five gallon bucket, fill the bucket with water and stir. If there is a high amount of asphalt and oil you should see the rainbow slick on the surface. How about the other trees in your neighborhood? Are they doing well in the same conditions, or do they look like your magnolia? Are there insects on the tree? Can you post a photo of the damage? I doubt it's the same thing that you are seeing on your veggies. Have you considered putting your veggies in raised beds? Even a two-by-four height would keep the roof and street run-off out of your veggies. Renee
...See More
Brugmansia, Datura, and Soil Toxicity
Q
Comments (7)
I can't answer that for sure but don't believe it's a problem. Eggplant, tomatoes and potatos are all in the same family with toxic foliage and stems and we eat their fruit. I don't know if the alkaloid concentration in brugs and dats is much higher. You could probably contact a university agricultural extension for a definitive answer. I know that the University of Maryland has an agricultural extension.
...See More
toxic soil in new orleans??
Q
Comments (4)
You're not going to eat the soil, so what you really want to test, if anything, is the vegies. Also, I've read that plants don't take up organic compounds like benzene, PCBs and solvents to any great extent. The main concern would be toxic metals like lead and cadmium. And different plants take up different metals at different rates, so it gets complicated. And metals occur naturally. If you test the soil or vegies, how do you decide what levels mean contamination? I've heard that line about how contaminated the 9th ward is supposed to be, but I never heard anything specific. I've attached a link to a list of Superfund sites in LA and it doesn't look like the 9th ward is especially dirty. Also, not every part of the 9th ward used to be industrial. If your neighborhood is really old and not near the river or the canal, there's not much chance there used to be a factory on it. If that's the case, I'd start planting. But I'm not a particularly cautious person. Here is a link that might be useful: superfund sites
...See More
larry_gene
19 years ago
I am familiar with both red and blue elderberries native to the Pacific Northwest; they tend to grow on the edge of clearings and are often closely surrounded by other plants.

Elderberry is not allelopathic like black walnut.
chervil2
19 years ago
My elderberry plants are surrounded by a variety of garden plants as well as the lawn. I do not see a toxicity effect in the vicinity of the elderberries.

Cheers!
Daisyduckworth
19 years ago
I'm coming in late on this one, but I've noticed that nothing else will grow where the roots of my elder tree are. And I've tried LOTS of different things, even mints.
flora_uk
19 years ago
Elder is very common in hedgerows over here and it is invariably surrounded by a mixture of other shrubs and plants. I have a hedge which includes, apart from elder, hawthorn, sloes, dogwood, brambles and field maple. At its base grow daffodils, many grasses, stinging nettles, red campion, aquilegia, forget-me-nots and a lot of other wild flowers. So even if some things possibly don't like to be near it there are plenty of plants which couldn't care less. They thrive in heavy soils with plenty of moisture so maybe NSW is not their optimum habitat and they therefore take a lot of the goodness from the ground around them. (All this refers to Sambucus nigra.)
Haruki Chou
7 years ago
quote from movie "Miss Julie" (Froken Julie, 1951) :

162
00:36:48,199 --> 00:36:51,909
But I wanted to die
beautifully and painlessly.

163
00:36:52,004 --> 00:36:58,023
I knew sleeping under an elderberry
bush was fatal,
jtflowerman
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I moved two blueberry bushes from a location where they were doing okay, but were crowded by blackberries, to a new location where I prepared excellent acidic soil for them, and the new location is near, but not really crowded, by a large elderberry bush. I water them with rain water which I collect in barrels from roof runoff, no tap water. They are doing very poorly in the new location, getting smaller each year now for the last two years. The problem has to be either something in the shingles of the house roof getting into the rainwater that I collect from the roof or the elderberry bush. I strongly suspect that the culprit is the elderberry bush. I'm with Daisyduckworth on this one, but I'm ready to listen to any one who is that they know for sure. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that a volunteer blackberry seedling came along to the location near the elderberry bush and it s thriving. One more thing--berries and leaves from the elderberry often fall into the water barrel and decompose when the cover is off the rain barrel during rain catching times.

elderberry soil toxicity

elder

Comments (8)

reinbeaux

Related Discussions

larry_gene

chervil2

Daisyduckworth

flora_uk

Haruki Chou

jtflowerman

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US