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Fruit & Orchards

Best place to grow elderberries?

biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)

7 years ago

We just bought our first home and I have outdoor space for the first time ever! The house is built into a hill so I don't have a ton of flat space. The house faces west, and there is perhaps 6-8 feet of flat lawn on the south side and in the front. However, due to the proximity of the neighboring houses, fences and privacy hedges, none of this flat lawn gets much sun.

We do, however, have a large, sloped area in the backyard that I would love make use of. The former owners sort of let it go wild, as you can see in the photos below (taken from our second story). The first photo, which is the north side of the lawn, gets pretty good sun all day since our side of the fence faces south. The large maple in this photo is coming down tomorrow - unfortunately, it's rotten at the base and there are large limbs that extend into the neighbors' yard and over their house, so it's a hazard for sure. That is the only tree shading the area between the stairs and fence.

The south side of the yard is also fenced in, with chain link that is largely overgrown by the neighbor's plants. I like the privacy this affords, but it means that anything we might grow along that fence isn't going to get full sun (unless it is taller than the fence). This side of the yard is also more steeply sloped and harder to access than the north side, although I am working on figuring out a way to access at least part of this area.

Anyway, I would love some suggestions from elderberry experts on where in this mess I might have some success with elderberries! I love both the fruits and flowers and would love to recreate my grandmother's pies and jams. I was thinking that the area along the north fence might work, but if elderberries are shade-tolerant enough to do well along the south fence it might be nice to have them there instead, since it's a somewhat difficult spot. All thoughts appreciated!

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Comments (3)

hungryfrozencanuck
7 years ago
In my limited experience Elderberry grows pretty much anywhere. Sure more sun is better but try where ever you want. I am growing Wyldewood and Bob Gordon. After 1 year from bare root planting Wyldwood is 8' tall while Bob Gordon planted from a plug is 4' tall. Be aware that they can get tall and then fall down then grow back up so my 4 plants which were planted in a circle now take up a space of 20'x20'. In a yard I find they are not the prettiest of plants. I am planning on taking cuttings and planting them along the north side of forested public parks, soccer fields, ect (where they will get the southern sun). There they will grow into bushes and I can simply harvest them once they bear fruit as most people will not bother with unknown berries growing ''wild''. Consider planting black currants (Titania). I like the syrup and compot even better than elderberry. Titania has a very upright growth when supported and will give 5+ lbs per plant.
biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
Original Author
7 years ago
Interesting idea. We actually have a public park adjacent to the east side of our property, but it is so thickly wooded that I'm not sure there's anywhere I could plant elderberry that would get any sun at all. I was actually thinking of trying to plant ramps along the border, as they apparently grow well in forested areas.

I don't have a huge yard so these are going to have to stay somewhat contained. Perhaps I'll try planting them IN containers in the area I'd like to have them, and see if they do well, then transplant to the ground if they do.
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garymc
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My Bob Gordons are about 4 or 5 feet tall also. I also have some wild ones I planted that grew to 12 feet right next to the Bob Gordons. I harvest a lot of elderberries from a roadside lined with trees. The road runs east and west and the trees on the south side of the road have the elderberry bushes right in front of them. So, they seem to do well on the edge. Here's a picture of my tall elderberries.
biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley) thanked garymc

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