The reason you all are having lots of fruit this year is probably (!! ha) because all the birds came down here & stripped not only the tiny fruit flower buds before they opened but also the small developing fruits... we have NO peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, apples... this year! This never happened before here either unless it was from late frosts some years! Will let you know how the SECOND year crop of elderberries tastes next year... I also thought they should be tart! Got two varieties: York & Adam I believe Shumway's sent & forgot the bushes got so tall (read the roots though are not deep). Guess the ripe berries though should be cooked.. they have a toxic substance when fresh? I sure don;t remember as a kid ever getting sick from those raw berries & we sure ate a lot of them that did a good job staining our clothes!

You are in a much warmer zone than I am, but in my garden, the red elderberry (Sambucus pubens /aka S. racemosa) blooms decidedly earlier than the American elderberry (S. canadensis), which has dark, purplish-red berries and is used for jam. I grow the former one for the birds. Are you referring to S. caerulea when you say "blue elderberry" or S. canadensis? We don't grow caerulea here.

Hello kawaiineko, To me it sounds like your tomaotes are right on schedule, considering the unusual weather this year. I'm also in zone 5a and I don't expect to see any ripe tomatoes until mid-August or later. We had such a cold wet spring that I set out my first plants in the middle of June, and even then they tended to sulk and hardly even grew until it warmed up. Which it did with a vengeance! Days to Maturity (DTM) is a guideline or average for comparing various varietes ripening times from transplanting into the garden. If it were a hard and fast rule, you would just now start seeing ripe cherry tomatoes, and your other tomatoes would ripen 10-20 days later. "I know with some veggies, that if temperature extremes occur (too hot, too cold, or just a general fluctuation in temperatures) this stresses the plant out and reduces yields, or slows maturity time. I also know with some veggies that if it gets too hot, that this will interfere with fruit ripening. Do these rules apply to tomatoes too?" - Yes, it pretty much does. "If you overcrowd the containers (put too many plants in too small of a container) then will this cause tomatoes not to ripen, or delay ripening? I have three romas in a 30 gallon container, 3 cherries in 30 gallon container, and 4 slicers in a 30 gallon container." - Here I'll say maybe. I don't think your plants are over crowded since a 10 gallon container is usually considered ample for a single tomato plant, but you may be pushing it a little with 4 slicers in one 30 gallon container. "I water the plants every evening, but I'm wondering if I should water during the day so the soil is kept moist during the hottest part of the day?" Check the soil moisture about 3-5 inches below the surface and about the same from the edge of the container, is it too wet, damp or dry? If it is wet, don't water, if damp, check again later in the day or the next morning, if it is dry water it. It really isn't unusual to have to water container plants more than once a day when the weather is hot. Larger containers will not need watering as often. I sure hope that helps. Betsy

hey folks! i planted 5 bob gordon and wylewood cultivars of elderberry in my property 3 yrs. ago. they have grown vigorously to 10ft. and have a doz. big cymes per plant. this year is the 1st year they have flowers and fruit but they aren't changing to purple yet even after a light frost 3 days ago. everything I've read about american elderberry and these cultivars say they grow to zone 3. I'm on 3b/ 4a line and on some elevation so we get less frosts than the lowlands . we also have had a warm summer. they should be ripened by now. maybe because its their 1st year fruiting they're a little behind? anyone in my zone that is growing these that could reflect on this? any info appreciated!