When Do Elderberries Fruit?

Elderberry Fruiting

Elderberry canes generally bear fruit in their second and third years and die in the fourth. The canes send out lateral branches. In June, the tips of the lateral branches bear clusters of small, white fragrant flowers. Fruit develops in clusters of dozens to hundreds of berries. Elderberries start out red but ripen to blue-purple in late August into early September. When ripe, remove the entire cluster and strip off the berries. Raw elderberries contain bad-tasting astringent compounds that make them inedible. These compounds are broken down by cooking. All elderberry products use cooked berries and juice.

Although elderberries can be found wild in much of the U.S., gardeners may prefer to buy their plants from a nursery. Elderberries aren't fussy about soil pH but do need moist, fertile, well-drained soil, especially in their first year. Plant elderberries in the spring, spacing plants about 6 to 10 feet apart. Elderberries propagate from hardwood cuttings taken while plants are dormant. Elderberry plants are shallow-rooted so they need to be kept well-watered, especially during their first season. Fertilize with a 10-10-10 fertilizer, apply 1/2 lb. for each year of the plant's age, up to a maximum 4 lbs. per plant.

Weed control for young elderberries can be tedious. Their roots are shallow, only about 3 to 4 inches deep, so you can't cultivate more than 2 inches deep. After the first year, you shouldn't cultivate at all. Instead, control weeds by pulling them up by hand while they are still small, applying mulch to your elderberry bed, and keeping a wide strip of closely mown grass around the edges. Once elderberry bushes mature into a thick hedgerow, their shade will act to suppress weeds.

Elderberries send up new canes each year while old canes lose vigor and die off. Elderberry bushes should be pruned in late winter to early spring, while the plants are still dormant. Remove all dead, broken or weak canes and any canes over three years old. Leave the one-, two- and three-year-old canes. There are six different varieties of cultivated elderberries and many gardeners recommend growing at least two different varieties within 60 feet of each other for cross-pollination.