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Elderberry, planting and care. Black elderberry - planting and care with your own hands in the garden plot Black elderberry cultivation and care in the country

Elderberry is a whole genus of deciduous shrubs or small trees. One of the plant species used in cultivation is also herbaceous. In total, there are about 40 different species, but only a few of them are cultivated.

This plant is not only a wonderful decoration of any site, but also an excellent protector of it from pests. That is why elderberry is often planted near barns, and its young branches are often used as "scarecrows" from pests and insects.

Under natural conditions, elderberry has chosen the European part of the CIS for growth. In addition, it is found in the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. It prefers to grow in the undergrowth of mixed and coniferous forests, on their edges or in bushes. More and more gardeners today plant this beautiful plant on their plots, using it as an ornamental and useful plant.

Choosing a site for planting elderberry

If you decide to plant elderberry on your site, then, initially, you need to take care of the place where it will be planted. This genus is quite unpretentious to growing conditions, but very poor soils, strong shade can negatively affect the growth of the plant and, of course, its appearance. Your shrub, if you choose the wrong place for planting, may not be so attractive to the eye. To avoid this, the site recommends choosing a well-lit area, this condition is especially important for those plant varieties that have variegated or colored leaves. For planting, loamy moist soddy-podzolic soils are desirable, while their acidity level should correspond to an interval of 6-6.5.

If your site still has exceptionally acidic soils, then a couple of years before planting the elderberry, it is necessary to make liming, for which the use of dolomite flour would be a good option. Subsequently, a month before planting the shrub, it is necessary to prepare the soil: destroy all weeds, apply mineral fertilizers.

In the conditions of Russia, black elderberry and red elderberry are the most popular. Both forms of this plant have highly decorative varieties that are great for gardens. But it should be noted that red elderberry berries are poisonous, and, therefore, it is not recommended for planting in places accessible to children. It is because of this property that black elderberry can still be found much more often with us.

There are several forms of bushes of this plant:

  • Low. This form of shrub is equipped with a spherical crown, while the total height does not exceed one meter.
  • Weeping. Such a plant has distinctive branches "drooping" to the ground.
  • Pyramidal. According to the name, the crown has the shape of a pyramid.
  • Fern-leaved. The leaves of this type of plant are equipped with beautiful, graceful cuts, its height reaches 1.8-2.4 meters.
  • The Porphyroleaf Elderberry has a wide range of leaf colors that range from purple to black.
  • Powdery elderberry has leaves covered with small dots and specks of white.

The most popular ones used in horticulture are: Marginata Pulverulenta, Madonna, Aurea, Linearis, Laciniata, Purpurea Guincho, Beauty Black, Purple lack, Eva, Lace.

Reproduction methods

You can propagate elderberries using seeds and cuttings. If you chose the first method, then it is worth noting that all the main features and properties of the variety will be lost. And the process itself is quite simple: the seeds are collected in the fall (around mid-October), after which they are sown in beds with a distance between rows of 25 cm. The sowing depth should be 2-3 centimeters. At the end of the season, seedlings will reach 50-60 cm in height.

In order to grow elderberry through cuttings, it is necessary to choose still green or woody annual shoots. Planting material must be cut into cuttings of 20-30 cm, each of which should have 2-3 internodes. After the green cuttings must be planted in the greenhouse. At the same time, the top layer of soil is sprinkled with a small amount of a mixture of sand and peat. If already stiff shoots are used as planting material, then in winter it is better to store them in the cold, for example, in snow or a basement. After spring, they land in fertilized and loosened soil.

How to plant an elderberry

One-, two-year-old plants should be planted on the site. To do this, select the northern or eastern edge of the site. For good pollination of the plant, it is desirable that other diverse plants are nearby. Directly planting itself is carried out in spring or autumn in good, warm weather. Before planting, pits are prepared, whose width and depth should correspond to the root system of the plant (about 50 cm). In the pit, mixed with the top fertile soil layer, 7-8 kg of humus, 30-50 g of potash fertilizers and 50 g of phosphorus should be added. Shrubs are buried up to the root collar. As a trunk, you can use a stake, which in height should not slightly reach the lower branches. You do not need to tie the bushes. After planting, the plant must be watered and be sure to monitor the soil moisture until a good engraftment.

Features of care

Caring for elderberries is actually not that labor intensive. It is enough at the beginning of the summer season to feed it a little with organic fertilizers. Additional watering is necessary only in dry or hot weather. In the spring, it is advisable to cut the elderberry, which will stimulate the growth of new shoots. Elderberry can sometimes be attacked by aphids or mites, causing its leaves to curl up. In this case, it is recommended to treat the plant with voloton (20 g per 10 liters of water). You can try another method: treat the plant with an infusion of bitter red pepper or onion peel.

Elderberry - planting, care, properties (video)

plant application

Elderberry is a wonderful decoration for any garden plot, while having wonderful properties and unpretentiousness in care. It is ideal for those gardens that are created as an imitation of the living "corners of nature", made in a landscape style.

Natural, natural types of elderberry are often used as elements of decorative groups, as well as as tapeworms. Dwarf elderberry is great for creating an alpine slide.

The flowers of the red and black elderberry are used as an aromatic additive to tea drinks, and they are also used in folk medicine to combat a variety of diseases.

In some cases, elderberry may not bear fruit, but for what reasons!

Rhubarb can not be found in every garden plot. It's a pity. This plant is a storehouse of vitamins and can be widely used in cooking. What is not prepared from rhubarb: soups and cabbage soup, salads, delicious jams, kvass, compotes and juices, candied fruit and marmalade, and even wine. But that's not all! A large green or red rosette of plant leaves, reminiscent of burdock, acts as a beautiful backdrop for annuals. Not surprisingly, rhubarb can also be seen in flower beds.

3 delicious sandwiches - cucumber sandwich, chicken sandwich, cabbage and meat sandwich - a great idea for a quick snack or for a picnic in nature. Only fresh vegetables, juicy chicken and cream cheese and a little spice. There is no onion in these sandwiches, if you wish, you can add an onion marinated in balsamic vinegar to any of the sandwiches, this will not spoil the taste. Having quickly prepared snacks, it remains to collect a picnic basket and go to the nearest green lawn.

Depending on the variety group, the age of seedlings suitable for planting in open ground is: for early tomatoes - 45-50 days, medium ripening - 55-60 and late terms - at least 70 days. When planting seedlings of tomatoes at a younger age, the period of its adaptation to new conditions is significantly extended. But success in obtaining a high-quality crop of tomatoes also depends on the careful implementation of the basic rules for planting seedlings in open ground.

Unpretentious plants of the "second plan" sansevieria do not seem boring to those who appreciate minimalism. They are better than other indoor decorative foliage stars for collections that require minimal maintenance. The stable decorative effect and extreme endurance of only one type of sansevieria are also combined with compactness and very fast growth - Khan's rosette sansevieria. The squat rosettes of their stiff leaves create striking clusters and patterns.

One of the brightest months of the garden calendar pleasantly surprises with the balance of the distribution of favorable and unsuccessful days for working with plants according to the lunar calendar. In June, gardening and gardening can be done throughout the month, while the unfavorable periods are very short and still allow you to do useful work. There will be their optimal days for sowing with plantings, and for pruning, and for a pond, and even for construction work.

Meat with mushrooms in a pan is an inexpensive hot dish that is suitable for a regular lunch and for a festive menu. Pork will cook quickly, veal and chicken too, so this meat is preferable for the recipe. Mushrooms - fresh champignons, in my opinion, the best choice for homemade stew. Forest gold - mushrooms, boletus and other goodies are best harvested for the winter. Boiled rice or mashed potatoes are ideal as a side dish.

I love ornamental shrubs, especially unpretentious and with an interesting, non-trivial foliage color. I have different Japanese spireas, Thunberg barberries, black elderberry ... And there is one special shrub that I will talk about in this article - the viburnum vesicle. To make my dream of a low maintenance garden come true, it's probably the perfect fit. At the same time, it is able to diversify the picture in the garden very much, moreover, from spring to autumn.

June is not accidentally one of the favorite months of gardeners. The first harvest, new crops in the vacant places, the rapid growth of plants - all this cannot but rejoice. But the main enemies of gardeners and gardeners - pests and weeds - also this month use every opportunity to spread. Planting work is on the wane this month, and seedling planting is at its peak. The lunar calendar in June for vegetables is balanced.

Many owners of cottages, equipping the territory, think about creating a lawn. Imagination draws, as a rule, magical pictures - an even carpet of green grass, a hammock, a deck chair, a brazier and beautiful trees and shrubs around the perimeter ... But, faced with the breakdown of the lawn in practice, many are surprised to learn that it is not so easy to create a beautiful even lawn . And, it would seem, everything is done correctly, but here and there incomprehensible bumps appear or weeds sprout.

The June schedule of garden work can surprise anyone with its richness. In June, even lawns and ponds require attention. Some ornamental plants have already completed flowering and need pruning, others are just getting ready for the upcoming show. And sacrificing an ornamental garden in order to take better care of a ripening crop is not a good idea. In the June lunar calendar, there is time to plant new perennials and potted compositions.

Cold pork leg terrine is a meat appetizer from the category of budget recipes, because pork legs are one of the cheapest parts of the carcass. Despite the modesty of the ingredients, the appearance of the dish and its taste are top notch! Translated from French, this “game dish” is a cross between a pate and a casserole. Since there were fewer game hunters in times of technological progress, terrine is made more often from livestock meat, fish, vegetables, and cold terrines are also made.

In pretty pots or trendy florariums, on walls, tables and window sills, succulents can last weeks without watering. They do not change their character and do not perceive conditions that are comfortable for most capricious indoor plants. And their diversity will allow everyone to find their favorite. Similar either to stones, or to bizarre flowers, or to extravagant sticks or lace, fashionable succulents have long been not limited to cacti and fat women.

Trifle with strawberries is a light dessert common in England, the USA and Scotland. I think this dish is prepared everywhere, only called differently. Trifle consists of 3-4 layers: fresh fruit or fruit jelly, biscuit biscuit or biscuit, whipped cream. Usually they prepare custard for a layer, but for a light dessert they prefer to do without it, whipped cream is enough. This dessert is prepared in a deep transparent salad bowl so that the layers are visible.

Weeds are bad. They interfere with the growth of cultivated plants. Some wild herbs and shrubs are poisonous or may cause allergies. At the same time, many weeds can be of great benefit. They are used both as medicinal herbs, and as an excellent mulch or component of green manure, and as a means of repelling harmful insects and rodents. But in order to properly fight or use this or that plant for the good, it must be identified.


There are about 20 varieties of elder, differing in size, shape and structure of leaves, fruits. Planting black elderberry is often carried out for decorative purposes. This culture can be found in the natural nature of temperate latitudes. A well-groomed shrub pleases the eye with numerous branches, large dense foliage, it blooms beautifully and luxuriantly. It is useful to plant an elderberry bush in a garden or in a country house; the smell emanating from it repels rodents and. Large clusters of black elderberry look bright and unusual in landscape design. Ripe berries have long been used in folk medicine, they are used to make jam, syrups, juices, make wine, eat fresh, and dry.

Description of culture

Black elder belongs to the Adox family, its closest relative is. Shrub of small size, grows quickly, the maximum height can be 8-10 meters. Flowering is lush, it falls on the period of spring - early summer. Small flowers are collected in inflorescences, their color can be white, cream or yellowish. The fruits are small, there are many of them, the color of the berries is black with a purple tint, there are 2 or 4 seeds inside. Harvest can be harvested in late summer - early autumn.

Elderberry is widely known for its beneficial and medicinal properties, in folk medicine all parts of the plant are used - roots, leaves, flowers, berries.

In various parts of the plant there is a whole complex of biologically active elements. Among them are tannins and resinous substances, essential oils, organic acids, vitamins, sugars, carotene. For the food industry, natural dyes - anthocyanins, which are part of elderberries, are of particular value.


Location selection

Elderberry is unpretentious, drought-resistant, but loves moisture and light. The shrub grows equally well in personal plots, summer cottages, within the city. In darkened areas, the plant loses its external attractiveness - the branches rush to growth, become thinner, the foliage falls off and thins. The elderberry bush is adjacent to fruit, ornamental, flowering plants without problems, if they do not cast a shadow on it. The soil under the shrub should be selected with a slightly acidic environment. To reduce acidity, lime and dolomite flour can be added to the soil. This should be done before planting the plant in the ground.

Planting black elderberry

Elderberry is planted in black spring. The prepared plant can be planted outdoors in the fall after the leaves begin to fall. It is better to start landing in warm weather. In the early days, daily watering and frequent loosening are recommended.

The flowering of a young elderberry bush usually begins in the second or third year of life.

Proper Planting of Black Elderberry:

  • a month before planting, the selected place should be cleaned of weeds, applied, humus or compost;
  • two or three year old seedlings are the best choice to achieve a quick establishment of the plant;
  • a hole for a seedling is dug half a meter deep, the bottom is loosened, about half a bucket of water is added;
  • the prepared seedling is sprinkled with fertilized soil and lightly tamped, pressing on the soil with your hands;
  • it is deepened so that the basal neck remains above the surface of the earth in a free form;
  • watering a new plant is best done after a few hours, when the soil settles a little;
  • if the seedling is low, then it is left free; if it is high, then it must be tied to a peg.

Elderberry care rules

Planting and caring for black elderberry is not very difficult, the main thing is that the plant has enough light and moisture, it is not clogged with weeds. Bushes grow quickly, without outside help. If this is undesirable, then even during planting, the hole should be limited to iron, slate or construction mesh.

A solution of urea is used as a nitrogen fertilizer when planting black elderberry, as well as a fungicide to protect the plant from pests, destroy unwanted insects, fungi, mold in the upper layers of the soil, in the root system.

Rules and features of black elderberry care:

  • in spring, to prevent burns, the main trunk and skeletal branches are painted with lime;
  • if after the winter some branches turned out to be broken or dry, then they are cut off, the cut points must be treated with garden pitch;
  • twice a year (preferably in spring and autumn), dry fertilizers are scattered around the trunk, watering is carried out with liquid formulations to nourish and develop the plant;
  • growth enhancers and mineral supplements are needed for weakened, slow-growing shrubs;
  • when warm weather sets in (mid-May - early June), the shrub should be disinfected from pests;
  • forming pruning of bushes is recommended to be carried out before the appearance of color - in June or July;
  • watering the bushes is carried out as necessary, while making sure that the water does not stagnate in the root part;
  • to preserve moisture, it is recommended under the bushes, using wood shavings, sawdust, peat;
  • it is useful to periodically loosen the soil, remove weeds, apply organic top dressing - compost, urea, manure, chicken manure;
  • at the end of flowering, re-treatment with fungicides from harmful insects, powdery mildew, and mites is carried out.

Elderberry responds well to pruning. In early spring or late autumn, you can cut the shoots almost to the ground, then the growth process is activated, the plant will quickly and fully recover.


Vegetative propagation of elderberry

Black elderberry is propagated by cuttings. The vegetative method is considered the fastest and most reliable, preserving the varietal characteristics of the crop. To do this, you can use above-ground shoots, rhizomes, parts of the plant.

How to propagate black elderberry:

  • in June or July, before flowering, several shoots should be cut with a sharp knife, the length of which is 10-12 cm;
  • the best material for propagation is the green shoots of the first year of life;
  • on the prepared cuttings, 1-2 leaves should be left, the rest should be cut off;
  • cuttings are stored until planting in a wet mixture of sand and peat in a ratio of 1: 1.

To speed up the rooting of the cuttings after planting, they can be covered with a film. Under the film, an atmosphere of high humidity is created, which positively affects the process of root formation. For the influx of fresh air in the film, it is necessary to make holes. After a week, the film is usually removed. At first, abundant and frequent watering is recommended. After one and a half to two months, the plant becomes completely independent.

A high percentage of survival (within 95-98%) is shown by stem layers of black elderberry.

How to grow black elderberry in the country:

  • for reproduction by layering, young non-lignified shoots are used, whose age is 2 or 3 years;
  • the middle part of the shoot is buried in a groove, mulched from above with sawdust or old manure;
  • only the upper part of the shoot remains free, about 20-30 cm;
  • if you make a diversion of elderberry at the beginning of summer, then by autumn the shoot will give roots;
  • for wintering, the plant is best left in the form of an uncircumcised layering;
  • next summer, the rooted shoot can be dug up and transplanted to another place.

The division of the shrub into parts for the purpose of reproduction is recommended in autumn. To do this, choose an adult plant, mostly a large bush. The separated part of the elderberry can be immediately planted in a permanent place, or temporarily transplanted into a container. In open ground from a container, the plant is planted in early spring. You can plant bushes in this way only once per season in order to maintain the health of the mother plant.

generative propagation of elderberry

Black elderberry seeds can be used for propagation. In this case, the specific features of the culture can be irretrievably lost. The advantage is that the generative method allows you to get many black elderberry seedlings at once, ready for planting.

Under natural conditions, elderberry seeds are spread by birds and animals that eat the fruits and release them into the external environment. Passing through the digestive system of a living organism, the seed coat is slightly damaged, which improves their germination in open ground. Scarification of black elderberry seeds is a process of a special violation of the integrity of the seed coat in order to increase their germination.

On an industrial scale, for scarification, seeds are treated with sulfuric acid, grinding with coarse sand is carried out. The seeds prepared in this way are sown in a moist nutrient substrate and are expected to germinate. Plants are plentifully and often watered, mulched, and in the winter period of the year they must be covered. Landing in open ground is carried out after about a year.

Proper pruning of bushes

Sanitary pruning of elderberries takes place in spring and autumn. Once every 5 or 6 years, the main branches of the shrub are cut almost to the ground. After that, the plant quickly recovers, new shoots quickly grow in place of the cut branches.

How to prune black elderberry correctly:

  1. In the spring, sanitary pruning is usually carried out with the removal of broken and dry shoots.
  2. In severe winter, elderberry can freeze a lot, in which case it is recommended to cut the bush under the root.
  3. Once every 4-5 years, it is recommended to prune the main branches of elderberry, leaving only a quarter of them.
  4. Pruning is especially needed for adult fruit-bearing bushes, the plant quickly recovers, renewing itself naturally.

Diseases and pests of elderberry

All varieties of elderberry have one thing in common, they release special aromatic substances into the environment. These secretions prevent the attack of small rodents and insect pests on the plant itself, as well as on plantations located near it. The shrub is distinguished by vitality and endurance, it rarely gets sick. It easily coexists with the very different cultures, it coexists well with coniferous and deciduous species. For the prevention of diseases and pests, it is recommended to periodically spray with insecticides. The optimal time for preventive treatment of shrubs is early spring and autumn, after the completion of the flowering process. For this, a solution of copper sulfate, karbofos can be used.

Planting black elderberry provides decoration of the backyard, provides a versatile use of the fruits and parts of a valuable plant. Growing and caring for a shrub is simple, reproduction occurs in several ways, so you can choose the most suitable one. Decoctions and infusions of elderberries help people cope with many diseases.


The genus Elder has up to 40 species, the most decorative of which is black elder. Planted on the site, over time, it will give you useful fruits. The plant is not demanding to care for and looks gorgeous in the garden, which can be seen in the photo.

Decorative forms and varieties

Black elderberry is a large ornamental deciduous shrub or tree. The plant is a long-liver (up to 60 years). It grows to a height of 3-4 m, sometimes up to 7 m. The leaves are rich green, unpaired, dissected into 5-9 lobes, when rubbed they exude an unpleasant odor. Small white or yellowish flowers are collected in loose corymbs. The fragrant aroma of flowers attracts many pollinating insects to the garden. The fruits are glossy drupes in loose racemes. The leaves, bark and trunk of black elderberry are moderately poisonous.

Elderberry is very decorative both during flowering and during fruiting.

Elderberry blooms in June for 3 weeks. By September, edible, sweet and sour fruits ripen, which are consumed both fresh and processed (jam, jams, wine).

The species of black elder includes many garden forms. Among them there are bushes with a columnar (b. pyramidal) and drooping (b. weeping) crown. The most interesting varieties are shown in the photo. Among the species with an unusual shape and color of foliage, one can distinguish:

B. fern-leaved- the leaves are narrowly cut, and the white flowers have a musk aroma.

Elderberry fern

B. porcelain leaf- a form with purple or ink leaves and pinkish flowers with a pleasant strong smell. Popular varieties:

  • "Purple";
  • "Ginshu purple" - interesting in the changing color of the leaves: green changes to ink, and in autumn to bright red;

Variety "Ginshu purple"

  • "Black beauty";
  • "Eve".

B. powdery- characterized by the presence of yellow or white spots on the foliage. Interesting varieties:

  • "Luteovariegata" - with a yellow border along the sheet;
  • "Pulverulenta" - the foliage is densely covered with white plaques;

Variety "Pulverulenta"

  • "Madonna" - foliage with multiple yellow spots.

Of the variegated varieties, it is worth highlighting "Albo-variegata" - with white-variegated, "Aureo-variegata" - with golden-variegated and "Aurea" with yellow leaves.

Sort "Aurea"

Variety "Witches Broom" ("Witch's Broom") reaches a height of only 20 cm, rarely blooms and does not bear fruit at all. The variety "Kazachka", on the contrary, is distinguished by abundant flowering and fruiting.

The subtleties of landing

Black elderberry is a fairly hardy plant. For planting choose well-lit areas. The plant is able to tolerate shading, but the decorative appearance suffers significantly from this.

Important! Forms with bright and variegated foliage are planted only in sunny areas. In the shade, the leaves become faded and lose their decorative effect.

Due to the property of elderberry to repel flies and other harmful insects, it is often planted near street toilets and drain holes. Nearby fruit bushes and trees will encourage cross-pollination.

For normal development, black elderberry prefers fertile slightly alkaline soils (loams). In case of an acidic reaction, the soil should be deoxidized with lime in advance.

For planting black elderberry, choose fertile soil

Planting seedlings is carried out in spring or autumn, when the weather is warm. A landing hole is dug to a depth of about 40-50 cm and generously filled with organic matter and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. The root neck is not deepened. The seedling is sprinkled with earth and rammed under the weight of the body of an adult. Until the seedling takes root and grows, it must be watered regularly. A young bush blooms in the third year.

Cultivation and care

Black elderberry care comes down to watering, keeping the soil clean and loose, and pruning. The plant is able to tolerate short-term drought, but prefers moist soil without stagnant water. On moist soils, elderberry looks juicy, blooms well, and the fruits are poured.

Advice. To preserve soil moisture in hot weather, it is recommended to mulch the near-stem circle of black elderberry with sawdust, leaf litter, peat or other materials.

Pruning of bushes is carried out for decorative (to shape the crown) and anti-aging purposes. In young plants, frozen and damaged branches are pruned in spring. In summer, the bushes quickly recover. To rejuvenate old bushes, pruning is short, leaving no more than a quarter of the trunk. Over the summer, new shoots will grow.

Important! Pruning is especially important for fruit-bearing elderberry varieties. Upon reaching the age of six, the branches cease to bear fruit. The peak of fruiting is observed on two-three-year-old branches.

The defeat of the plant by diseases is practically not found. The crown of the bush is sometimes attacked by aphids and spider mites. When signs of trouble appear, the plant should be immediately treated with fungicides.

Elderberry fruits are ready to be harvested in autumn

The fruits are harvested after full ripening. This happens in mid-September. The brushes are cut off entirely. The shelf life of berries is short - 8-10 days in the refrigerator, so they are often allowed for processing. Uncut brushes are able to remain on the branches all winter. For medicinal purposes, elderberry flowers are harvested by cutting and drying them in the shade of trees or in the attic.

Application of fertilizers and dressings

Fertilizers for elderberry are applied in early spring. Solid mineral fertilizers are scattered in the near-trunk circle, after which they are embedded in the soil by harrowing by 10-15 cm, soluble ones are applied with irrigation.

Advice. The black elderberry is very responsive to the introduction of urea.

From organic matter, solid manure or compost is used, as well as litter infusions. It is better to make them in the fall, a year later.

For black elderberry, feeding once a year is enough.

reproduction

Ways to propagate black elderberry:

  • seminal;
  • green or woody cuttings;
  • layering.

elderberry seeds black autumn sown in the soil. After a year, the seedlings reach a height of 50 cm and are ready for transplanting.

Important! Black elder grown from seeds loses most of its varietal properties. It is impossible to predict which plant will turn out, highly decorative or unsightly.

green cuttings immediately after the cut, they are planted on a temporary bed. Woody shoots are cut in autumn and stored until spring in a cool place. In the spring, cuttings 25 cm long are cut, leaving at least two pairs of buds, and also planted in a temporary place for rooting. The soil in the area is always kept moist. By autumn, cuttings form roots and young shoots. For the winter, seedlings need shelter. The grown bushes are transplanted to a permanent place.

Green cuttings of elderberry

For getting layering black elderberry branches are added dropwise into the grooves in autumn, leaving the top on the surface. In the spring, young growth will grow in this place, which is recommended to be separated from the mother bush after a few years.

Growing black elderberry in your area is not at all troublesome. She needs basic care that does not require special skills and abilities. In response, the plant will give you a pleasant aroma during flowering, decorative foliage in summer and healthy berries in autumn.

Planting and properties of black elderberry: video

Black elderberry: photo



Foreword

Once considered a relative of honeysuckle, black elderberry (sambuc) is one of gardeners' favorite home grown plants, especially since planting and caring for it is not the most difficult task.

This plant, known as Sambúcus nígra, was once classified in the honeysuckle family, but the Elderberry genus has now been separated into a separate Adox group and has about 40 different species. Moreover, unlike red varieties, black ones grow best in the south, where the climate is warm and the growing season is long. In the north, most forms of Sambúcus nígra will simply freeze to the very root. However, there are also quite frost-resistant varieties, however, they have green, non-stiffened shoots also do not withstand the cold. Bushes or trees of black elderberry rarely grow above 7 meters, although there are also tall varieties up to 10 meters or more. In other words, this plant, which does not need complex care, can be a source of shade for your garden and a good solution for landscaping it.

black elderberries

Sambuca leaves grow on shoots in pairs, oppositely, in length they reach from 10 to 30 centimeters in different varieties. The flowers, on the contrary, are small, only 5 millimeters in diameter, bloom in large umbrella inflorescences up to 25 centimeters in diameter. The fruits are rather small rounded drupes, do not exceed 7 millimeters in diameter, usually dark blue with a purple tint. Their flesh is juicy, slimy, the taste is sweet with sourness. Black elderberry blooms at the end of May, and the ovaries are formed only in the second half of July. Fruiting is very extended, some drupes ripen in mid-August, most in September, and some do not ripen until frost, remaining green.

It is noteworthy that Sambúcus nígra has mostly edible fruits, with the exception of some ornamental varieties, which distinguishes it from the poisonous red sambuca. In addition, black elderberry is very healing, its fruits, leaves, flowers, bark and even roots have medicinal properties. In particular, essential oils and glycosides are isolated from various parts of this culture, among which the largest share is sambunigrin. The seeds of the fruits also contain a rather fatty medicinal oil, and the leaves contain resins that give a laxative effect. And, of course, tannins are present in large quantities in the bark and roots. But, for the most part, gardeners are interested in fruits, since elderberry blanks are not inferior in terms of healing properties.

Based on the fact that elderberry is an excellent honey plant, it is usually grown on plots by those who keep an apiary. In this case, the wild-growing form is also suitable, especially since its frost resistance is higher than that of the bred decorative ones, and it practically does not require care. The same can be recommended if you are interested in the harvest - wild-growing sambuca drupes have enough sweetness to make preservation for the winter from them. But if you want to decorate the landscape with a beautifully flowering (and at the same time fruiting) shrub, it is still better to choose one of the ornamental varieties.

Variety Black Lace Elderberr

The most popular sambuco is Black Lace Elderberry, which translates as "Black Lace Elderberry", also known as Eva. She enjoys success with gardeners due to her spreading domed crown with large purple leaves. The flowers of this variety have a delicate pink color, black small drupes are formed from the ovaries, with a rather high sugar content. Elderberry Eva rarely grows above 3 meters, but this is quite enough to form a shadow, which, however, is not thick due to some openwork of the crown. The plant is thermophilic, prefers sunny areas, but also develops well in the shade of other trees.

Another well-known variety is Guincho Purple, rather undersized, growing no higher than 2 meters. However, the small size is offset by remarkable decorative properties. The fact is that the leaves of this plant are initially green, but over time they become dark purple, and red in autumn. The same metamorphosis occurs with flowers, they appear as a dark pink bud, and open with white petals with light pink tones. And, what is remarkable, the young shoots of this variety are also not green, but purple. But such decorative qualities appear only if the plant is planted in a sunny place, in the shade the shoots and leaves will only have a green color.

The Pulverulenta variety is very beautiful, also undersized, no more than 2 meters high, with a relatively lush crown up to 1.5 meters in diameter. Its peculiarity is that large leaves of a dark green color are covered with numerous white spots and stripes. The flowers are ordinary, white, and appear quite late, only in June. Fruits are edible. Another popular variety is Marginata. The bushes grow up to 3 meters, providing the garden with quite a dense shade, and light green leaves with a creamy border will decorate any garden. All of these varieties have an average frost resistance, that is, unripe shoots die in winter, and the bush subsequently needs to be pruned. However, they do not require special care and quickly recover, growing back in the next season.

The most common method is cuttings or ready-made seedlings with an already formed root system. The difference lies in the fact that in the first case, you have to place planting material in the ground and grow a seedling from it, which can also be simply purchased at a nursery. Of course, before making a purchase, you need to find out in detail which variety you are offered, and what is its winter hardiness, especially if black elderberry is supposed to be planted in the middle lane. Moreover, it should be remembered that a seedling is a young tree at least 1 year old, while a stalk is an escape with an unformed root system, which can be both stiff and green.

Black elderberry stalk for propagation

Elderberry seeds can be propagated by extracting them from the fruit or by purchasing them from the same nursery. In the first case, provided that you know what kind of drupes will be the source of planting material, you will grow what you want to see in your garden. The second option is justified only if you buy planting material from a trusted nursery that you have heard positive reviews about. Otherwise, you can run into an unscrupulous seller and buy a completely different variety, and not the one that you would like to plant on the site (or even wild seeds). The disadvantage of this method of reproduction is that the germination of seeds depends on the conditions in which they were planted. It is best to prepare sprouts in a greenhouse where the microclimate does not change all year round.

It should be remembered that only seeds from ripe, fully ripened fruits have the greatest viability; they will not sprout in green and unripe ones. In addition, the seeds extracted from the fruit very quickly lose their ability to germinate.

And, finally, a rather original version - reproduction by layering. It is possible only when elderberry is already growing on your site, and you want to get a few more bushes. To do this, simply bend down the lower young shoots and dig them in the middle part, deepening into the ground by about 15 centimeters. For this, grooves are dug where the compost is placed. After a year, these shoots form their own roots, but it is necessary to cut the main branches to about a third so that all the nutrients come from the mother tree to the cuttings until they develop, and this is almost all care. In the future, the separation of young plants from the main bush simply occurs by cutting the branches closer to the newly formed trunk. It is better to transplant the elderberry obtained in this way to a new place.

The basic rule when planting cuttings or seedlings is that the root collar should be above the ground, that is, the plant is immersed in the ground along the trunk. Despite the fact that elderberry is quite unpretentious, the soil for its rooting must be fertile, rich in organic matter. If you have light soils on the site, for example, sandy loam or loam, be sure to add to the pit, the depth of which should not exceed 0.5 meters, a mixture of sand, peat and humus in a ratio of 1:1:2. You can also add 2 parts of sod land if the sand content in the soil is too high. Mostly seedlings are planted in open ground in this way, cuttings are most often rooted in containers, using the same soil mixture, and only later transplanted.

Planting elderberry cuttings

If you want to sow seeds, you need quality planting material, which is selected around the end of October from fully ripened fruits. For simplicity, you can plant them in the ground immediately, in the same month, making holes about 2.5 centimeters deep in increments of 0.2 meters, and it is advisable to cover the bed with a dark film, making a greenhouse for the winter. In the event that you want to start sowing in the spring, the seeds must be stratified so that they do not lose viability. The technology is simple: soaking is carried out for 6 days in warm, daily changing water, after which, after mixing with coarse sand, we remove the seeds in the refrigerator for 2 months, packing them hermetically. After this period, we plant seedlings.

Care for growing elderberry bushes is quite simple. First of all, the place must be chosen so that the plot receives sunlight for most of the daylight hours. In addition, protection from the north side from the wind is required. Keep in mind that the smell of sambuca is rather unpleasant, but it perfectly repels flies and garden pests, which makes this plant especially valuable for gardeners.

In other words, you should not place a bush in front of the windows, but planting along the garden or near the paths will be optimal. Care also implies an annual supply of elderberry with organic fertilizers, which are best applied to the roots in the form of a mullein solution in the proportion of 1 kilogram per 10 liters to each bush. For the winter, it is better to bend the branches of the plant to the ground and cover with potato tops, straw or burlap.