Wild Oklahoma Elderberry Bushes

14 years ago

Hi y'all,

I'm wanting to dig up and transplant elderberry bushes that grow along country fence rows for useful privacy screens and wind breaks around the perimeter of my place.

Would fall be the best time to do this?

What I'd like to do is locate them when they're in bloom, then mark the spot, and go back at the appropriate time and dig them up. IF.. I can figure out when it's time for them to bloom!

Barbara

Here is a link that might be useful: Oklahoma Elderberry Bushes images

Featured Answer

slowpoke_gardener

14 years ago

Barbara, I got the bright idea a few years ago of planting Elder Berry bushes in the center of my garden. I think Elder Berry jelly is as good as any you can make. The trouble was, I never got any. I guess I should have made Jelly out of the bird droppings, because that is where my berries went. I feed the birds at the edge of my garden, so I had more than my share of birds any day of the week.

I had a better garden spot and an artesian well, so everything got prime care. The bushes spread like wildfire, the birds got mud fat, and I thought I would never get rid ot the bushes. I still mow down some bushes that try to come up in that same spot.

I think they would be a good border, but I think you will have to keep them contained.

Larry

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

owiebrain
14 years ago
I've dug and moved elderberries during most seasons, other than dead of winter, and have been successful. I'm sure there's a "right" time but they're so hardy and hard to kill. Of course, if you do it right now, you have to nurse them through the summer drought and heat until they get established.

My elderberries have already bloomed, many already having dropped their blossoms and formed berries.

Make sure you have permission from the property owners before you go digging along fence lines. Doing things like that around here could get you looking down the wrong end of a shotgun. Of course, I think my area has a much higher crazy per capita rate than other areas. LOL

Diane
shekanahh
Original Author
14 years ago
Diane...
I just came in from irrigating, sitting here with a frozen washcloth wrapped around my neck. If I were to go dig up some elderberry bushes in this weather, I'd probably have to nurse myself back to health the rest of the summer, LOL!

However, you gave me the input I needed, and really, that was WHEN they bloomed, (so I can easily recognize them). Fat chance of that happening now, since they've already bloomed. After all the info on that link I posted NO ONE said WHEN.

Where I would be digging elderberry bushes, there is no one around for miles. I wouldn't even know where or who to ask for permission.....but definately don't want to hear the sound of banjos playing!

Barbara
Related Discussions
wild elderberry cuttings
Q
Comments (8)
Oh man! I almost forgot this thread. I was at work and had typed a long description of how I treat elderberry cuttings, and somehow it vanished when I hit 'send'. I was too frustrated to write it a second time. ;o) Take several hardwood (wood from last year) 5-6 node cuttings after leaves fall and bundle them so the proximal ends (ends that were closest to the roots) are together. You can cut the proximal ends at a 45* angle and the distal ends at 90*, so you can tell them apart, but don't forget which is which. Bury the cuttings proximal end up in a full sun area of your garden/beds that gets good drainage, so the end is covered by 3" of soil. Be sure to mark them so you can find them in spring. The ends will form callus. The warmth from the sun in the spring will stimulate root primordia (the beginning of roots) or actual roots, while the cool temperatures deeper in the soil will inhibit bud movement. When elderberries in the landscape are starting to leaf out, dig up the bundle and reorient them so the distal end is up and at least three nodes are buried and 1-2 nodes are above ground. Be sure any roots that have formed don't dry out. The ground is cold enough at this time that fungal issues are not a problem. The proximal end up warms the rooting end, which promotes rapid callusing & gets roots growing. The cooler temps deeper in the soil keeps the shoots from developing until roots have formed, which is when you'll be digging them up & planting or potting them. I do a lot of temperate trees this way, and a few years back, I did it 2 years in a row with a half dozen cuttings of Sambucus nigra 'laciniata', the EB with black cut-leaf foliage everyone thinks is a Japanese maple. They all struck. Al
...See More
looking for elderberry bushes near milton
Q
Comments (2)
i believe you are referring to sambucus. i have many in my gardens but they flower in june/july and form berries in sept. you're welcome to berries but i am in winchester.i bet you could find sambucus specimens at the Elm Bank estate in wellesley- headquarters of Mass Hort Society. or garden in the Woods in framingham. you may want to post your query on the shrubs forum too. best, mindy
...See More
Any elderberries? (Shelby Co. area)
Q
Comments (1)
I have picked them along Macon Road starting at the Fayette County line headed east but that has been several years ago. There were always plenty along the side of the road bordering the fields there. Also along the road that goes from Arlington to Hickory Withe. I ran a route up that way and into Gallaway and I would get a high school kid to go with me and I would drive and he would jump out and cut them as we ran across them.
...See More
Elderberry Issues
Q
Comments (38)
After considering all the advice, we ended up removing some big trunks. A day of strong winds broke another big branch that no longer benefited from the support of the other branches. What we are now left with is a sort of canopy of leaves with long bare, crooked trunks. There is one low lying branch that my husband refuses to part with because he likes the privacy it gives us and he also wants to pick berries with the kids (the other branches are too high). We also cleared the garden waste that I had been dumping underneath, and trimmed the hedge that grows behind it. The result is one very ugly tree, but probably not worse than it previously was. Plus, my thinking is that the core of the tree might get enough sun now so it will sprout new branches, and next year the future owners could remove the old branches, or the whole tree, or just let it be. It will give them options, I guess. I'll try adding some pictures tomorrow. Thanks for your help again, foreignlady
...See More
owiebrain
14 years ago
You might want to try looking now anyway. Assuming you have a/c in your vehicle, it would make a great excuse for cooling off. LOL Quite a few of my elderberries do still have blooms but many others have already moved to the fruit stage.

So get movin' if you want to catch them this year!

Diane
Macmex
14 years ago
We still have them flowering here in Tahlequah. They're easy to spot while driving down the back roads.

I bet Elderberrys are easy to root in the late fall and early spring.

George
mulberryknob
14 years ago
They're still blooming here in Adair Co too. But be careful what you wish for. They can be very invasive. I moved two small ones from another spot on our property into the garden for the berries and they have suckered like mad--and I never water them. We mow around them to keep them contained. And I think elderberries must come easily from seed as now we have several bushes in places around the house where we didn't before.
Copeland Cottage
8 years ago
I live in Edmond, Ok. Can anyone tell me the best places to look for elderberry within 30 miles or so from me? I might buy a few elderberry bushes for our back area but I'd rather forage for them! Thank you!
okoutdrsman
8 years ago
Softwood cuttings will root this time of year. The months of June, July and August are the recommended months for taking cuttings.

I rooted some in water, last summer, but never got around to getting them potted up.

I'll probably try rooting in sand or soilless mix in the next week or so.

As far as locating them around the Edmond area, I would pay attention to creek drainages and around the edge of fields.
Phyllis Steel
4 years ago
I live in Shawnee Oklahoma. I am looking for Elderberry vines? Can somone direct in the right path. I also would love Wild BlackBerry cutting as well. HELP!
okoutdrsman
4 years ago
Phyllis, if you are one FB, check marketplace. I just purchased 6 3 year old plants from a lady in Newalla.

Wild Oklahoma Elderberry Bushes

slowpoke_gardener

Comments (10)

owiebrain

shekanahh
Original Author

Related Discussions

owiebrain

Macmex

mulberryknob

Copeland Cottage

okoutdrsman

Phyllis Steel

okoutdrsman

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Wild Oklahoma Elderberry Bushes

Comments (10)

shekanahhOriginal Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

shekanahh
Original Author