Elderberry, American Elder
Adoxaceae
Fruits used for creation of wine, jam/jelly.
Huge white flower clusters sometimes used in salads or cooked and can be used to make a light wine similar to champagne.
Flowers attract many pollinators. Birds love the fruit.
4” pots or 1 gallon, if shipping is selected, shipped bare root but wrapped carefully.
Plant Specifics
Form: | Shrub | |
Size: | 10-15 ft, at least as wide as it is tall, sometimes wider. | |
Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
Flower Color: | White | |
Fruit Color: | Blue,purple,black | |
Phenology: | Deciduous in the north, evergreen in the south. Blooms spring-summer (into fall in the south). | |
Noted for: | Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage |
Landscaping
Recommended Uses: | Casual settings, wetland edge or screen plant. Long bloom period. | |
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | |
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | |
Soil or other substrate: | Clay, Loam, Sand | |
Soil pH: | Adaptable |
Ecology
Wildlife: |
Fruits popular with birds. |
|
Insects: |
Flowers attract many pollinators. |
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Native Habitats: | Disturbed wetland edges, wet roadsides, etc. |
Ethnobotany: |
Fruits used for creation of wine, jam/jelly. Flowers sometimes used in salads or cooked and can be used to make a light wine similar to champagne. |
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General Comments: | Used extensively in Indian cultures. Fruits are very high in Vitamin C. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
+
−
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 8A 8B 9A 9B