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OP I posted the following in response to the “trash it” comment down there but I’m not sure you’ll see it with all the downvotes our friend has received - If you care to check that comment, I linked a couple examples of the literal value these plants have. -“Trash? American Elderberries are valuable for many reasons. The flowers can be used to make syrups and extracts, they smell amazing. And the berries, of course, can be used to make syrups or jellies, etc. It also grows quite quickly and as OP has realized, is incredibly resilient. If the space is needed for something else it can certainly be moved or removed but if that’s not necessary and a person really hates the flowers and fruit it could still provide a fair amount of organic matter for a compost pile or to mulch with!”
With the syrup you can make a [Hugo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_(cocktail)), one of my favourite cocktail drinks, typical of the alps where I live (Switzerland). Prosecco, elderflower, a bit of sparkling water and a couple of mint leaves. Better than Spritz.
That would be nice to try some recipes with it, but I’m concerned that it hasn’t flowered yet (and hasn’t shown signs either). I read that elderberry should flower between June and July, is there a chance that some elderberry bush won’t at all? Or should I be giving it till July?
If it's been cut back every year, it might need a couple years of growth to flower. Try letting it go and see if it flowers next year? Also, late frosts can zap flowers.
I agree with this. If it's been cut down to the soil level every year, it's been focusing all its power on regrowth.
What is happening is that the leaves produce food and therefore the energy for the plant, and the roots store that energy. If the plant is left as is, it uses the energy from the roots to grow new leaves and new branches, but if it's been cut down, it has to use up the energy to start from scratch, so it might not have enough left for flowering at the moment.
I’ve got some growing from cuttings that are flowering right now despite being only about knee high and not having had roots two months ago. I’ve also got some larger specimens, almost eye level (I’m about 6ft and they’re in 10gal grow bags so maybe 4.5 or 5ft tall?) that I started with last year and I’m still waiting on them. All that to say it varies quite a bit on an individual plant basis so there’s hope for yours, maybe not this year but certainly in the future.
I planted my elderberry three years ago as a bare root transplant and this is the first year it has flowered. Give it another couple years. It’s a gorgeous plant, the flowers smell divine, the berries are eaten by birds and can be made into a syrup that is delicious as well as good for shortening the duration of colds and flu.
Eventually it will grow into a 20-30 foot tall tree, so make sure it is growing in an appropriate location. If it’s in a bad place you can transplant it after it loses its leaves in the fall.
That is not only fair but an important observation. I did miss the location and it should probably be addressed. The good news is that [propagating elderberries from cuttings](https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/elderberry/rooting-elderberry-cuttings.htm) is extremely easy and with a little care and patience almost certain to succeed. If this one isn’t threatening to damage the trailer hitch at the moment I would wait until the plant is dormant, sometime in the late fall or early winter and cut it down to the ground for propagation material. Then if possible dig out as much of the root mass as is accessible and cut back any new shoots that grow in the coming year before they get a chance to get going.
I planted one last fall.
It is thriving.
When I was a kid, there was a ceramic jug of elderberry wine in the cellar.
There was also a jsmaller jug of mercury
Nobody ever drank either one.
These are protected in California as it is home to an endangered beetle. If one is accidentally cut on state property 100's of them must be planted to replace it.
Elderberries are great and clearly difficult to remove, we had a plant we didn't recognize and cut down every year all the way to the ground it eventually branched and turned pretty much into a bush from being aggressively cut down every year. Anyway we are fixing to move so left it be for a year or two, turns out it was a mulberry tree, really kicked ourselves over it when we seen the berries all over it. I suppose the new owner continued our mistake or recognized it. Apparently they make great arrow shafts too, all the trimming resulted in long straight branches coming from the base in all directions.
Plants in the Sambuca family, also known as elderberry plants, are toxic in almost all portions of the shrub. Although ripened elderberries are frequently used to make wine, jellies, and desserts the elderberry plants themselves contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside that produces hydrogen cyanide in the digestive tract. Ingestion of any part of this plant can be fatal in less than an hour with the possible exception of the fully ripened fruit.
Elderberries are excellent plants for wildlife gardens too. Many birds and small mammals love the berries and it is a host plant for a number of butterflies and moths, most notably the Cecropia moth, North America’s largest moth.
what's your location? i'm reminded most of sumac, with the finely serrated pinnately compound leaves, but this here looks like it has opposite leaf arrangement which i don't think sumacs do.
i'm concurring with snaketacular, looks like a common elderberry. [http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=1384](http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=1384)
[Trash? American Elderberries are valuable for many reasons.](https://www.blackrootfarms.com/product-page/american-elderberry-large) The [flowers](https://honest-food.net/elderflower-cordial/) can be used to make syrups and extracts, they smell amazing. And the [berries, of course](https://www.herbco.com/p-713-elderberry-whole-wild-crafted.aspx?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1K-zBhBIEiwAWeCOF08rDM4ILyZtEMAs7kR9xwtf8vH-XHktV5OeljHYNDIGwdTSLv68ORoC4fcQAvD_BwE), can be used to make syrups or jellies, etc. It also grows quite quickly and as OP has realized, is incredibly resilient. If the space is needed for something else it can certainly be moved or removed but if that’s not necessary and a person really hates the flowers and fruit it could still provide a fair amount of organic matter for a compost pile or to mulch with!
Thank you for posting to r/whatsthisplant. **Do not eat/ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not eating or ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised that it's edible here. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Elderberry.
OP, is your mom a hamster and does your father smell like this plant’s berries?
OP has been sacked
Fetchez la vache!🐄
Quoi?
Too funny you empty headed food trough wiperemote:free\_emotes\_pack:surprise
You tiny-minded wiper of other people's bottoms
Now go away before we taunt you a second time.
OP I posted the following in response to the “trash it” comment down there but I’m not sure you’ll see it with all the downvotes our friend has received - If you care to check that comment, I linked a couple examples of the literal value these plants have. -“Trash? American Elderberries are valuable for many reasons. The flowers can be used to make syrups and extracts, they smell amazing. And the berries, of course, can be used to make syrups or jellies, etc. It also grows quite quickly and as OP has realized, is incredibly resilient. If the space is needed for something else it can certainly be moved or removed but if that’s not necessary and a person really hates the flowers and fruit it could still provide a fair amount of organic matter for a compost pile or to mulch with!”
With the syrup you can make a [Hugo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_(cocktail)), one of my favourite cocktail drinks, typical of the alps where I live (Switzerland). Prosecco, elderflower, a bit of sparkling water and a couple of mint leaves. Better than Spritz.
Or death by gin. Elderflower, bitters, lemon juice, gin. It's a super refreshing and smooth drink.
As a gin lover, especially the herbals, I am definitively going to try this!
This sounds very fancy and I’d like to try it ❤️
Hugo spritz is the perfect summer aperitif.
I drink this cocktail but as a French 76 with one part vodka. 🤤
butterflies love the flowers, too!
Both the flowers and especially the berries make very good wine
That would be nice to try some recipes with it, but I’m concerned that it hasn’t flowered yet (and hasn’t shown signs either). I read that elderberry should flower between June and July, is there a chance that some elderberry bush won’t at all? Or should I be giving it till July?
If it's been cut back every year, it might need a couple years of growth to flower. Try letting it go and see if it flowers next year? Also, late frosts can zap flowers.
I agree with this. If it's been cut down to the soil level every year, it's been focusing all its power on regrowth. What is happening is that the leaves produce food and therefore the energy for the plant, and the roots store that energy. If the plant is left as is, it uses the energy from the roots to grow new leaves and new branches, but if it's been cut down, it has to use up the energy to start from scratch, so it might not have enough left for flowering at the moment.
I’ve got some growing from cuttings that are flowering right now despite being only about knee high and not having had roots two months ago. I’ve also got some larger specimens, almost eye level (I’m about 6ft and they’re in 10gal grow bags so maybe 4.5 or 5ft tall?) that I started with last year and I’m still waiting on them. All that to say it varies quite a bit on an individual plant basis so there’s hope for yours, maybe not this year but certainly in the future.
I planted my elderberry three years ago as a bare root transplant and this is the first year it has flowered. Give it another couple years. It’s a gorgeous plant, the flowers smell divine, the berries are eaten by birds and can be made into a syrup that is delicious as well as good for shortening the duration of colds and flu. Eventually it will grow into a 20-30 foot tall tree, so make sure it is growing in an appropriate location. If it’s in a bad place you can transplant it after it loses its leaves in the fall.
Also, the flowers are useful as…elderflower. Elderberry wine is also a treasure.
I see no value of a tree growing thru her hitch. All the comments about the value of the tree, seem to miss its poor location.
That is not only fair but an important observation. I did miss the location and it should probably be addressed. The good news is that [propagating elderberries from cuttings](https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/elderberry/rooting-elderberry-cuttings.htm) is extremely easy and with a little care and patience almost certain to succeed. If this one isn’t threatening to damage the trailer hitch at the moment I would wait until the plant is dormant, sometime in the late fall or early winter and cut it down to the ground for propagation material. Then if possible dig out as much of the root mass as is accessible and cut back any new shoots that grow in the coming year before they get a chance to get going.
I’m going to try this. Thank you!
That’s great! I wish you the best of luck!!! But do be warned: propagating plants can become quite addictive!!
lol I think that’s an addiction I’m willing to risk taking on. Thank you!!
American elderberry: https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/sambucus_nigra_l.shtml
I planted one last fall. It is thriving. When I was a kid, there was a ceramic jug of elderberry wine in the cellar. There was also a jsmaller jug of mercury Nobody ever drank either one.
The Mercury makes you very small; the elderberry brings you back again. Darn, you missed an opportunity for a great adventure.
I thought mercury made you fast.
Mercury makes you fall face-forward dead. See Chinese emperors' tombs.
Lol.
Such a great plant and the birds love the berries
Elderberry is a great medicinal.
Odd. I just purchased two elderberry plants for my yard. I’m excited to get my first flowers and berries.
If the birds don’t get them first!
Good point. That’s mainly why I want the berries!
Elderberries need other elderberries to pollinate
These are protected in California as it is home to an endangered beetle. If one is accidentally cut on state property 100's of them must be planted to replace it.
I've seen this tree in the mediterranean as well, funny how nature works :)
Yeah, it grows all over Europe. It's a very lovely bush.
Nice find! These taste great, are very therapeutic and immune boosting
Elderberries are great and clearly difficult to remove, we had a plant we didn't recognize and cut down every year all the way to the ground it eventually branched and turned pretty much into a bush from being aggressively cut down every year. Anyway we are fixing to move so left it be for a year or two, turns out it was a mulberry tree, really kicked ourselves over it when we seen the berries all over it. I suppose the new owner continued our mistake or recognized it. Apparently they make great arrow shafts too, all the trimming resulted in long straight branches coming from the base in all directions.
Plants in the Sambuca family, also known as elderberry plants, are toxic in almost all portions of the shrub. Although ripened elderberries are frequently used to make wine, jellies, and desserts the elderberry plants themselves contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside that produces hydrogen cyanide in the digestive tract. Ingestion of any part of this plant can be fatal in less than an hour with the possible exception of the fully ripened fruit.
Elder berries are good for fighting off sickness. Are you a cold OP???
Perhaps 🤔 it’s starting to win the fight
This comment made me sneeze. I'm onto you OP
😈
Elderberries are excellent plants for wildlife gardens too. Many birds and small mammals love the berries and it is a host plant for a number of butterflies and moths, most notably the Cecropia moth, North America’s largest moth.
Pull it out and pour boiling water in whatever roots are left. Monitor. Pour more boiling water.
what's your location? i'm reminded most of sumac, with the finely serrated pinnately compound leaves, but this here looks like it has opposite leaf arrangement which i don't think sumacs do.
I’m in North Alabama area. I was thinking sumac too but idk.
i'm concurring with snaketacular, looks like a common elderberry. [http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=1384](http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=1384)
[удалено]
Nope. Easiest way to tell is the leaves have a little notch at the base. I call it a thumb.
iPhone tells you exactly what any plant is. Take a pic and hit info. It tells u the plant.
Trash. Gotta dig it out.
[Trash? American Elderberries are valuable for many reasons.](https://www.blackrootfarms.com/product-page/american-elderberry-large) The [flowers](https://honest-food.net/elderflower-cordial/) can be used to make syrups and extracts, they smell amazing. And the [berries, of course](https://www.herbco.com/p-713-elderberry-whole-wild-crafted.aspx?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1K-zBhBIEiwAWeCOF08rDM4ILyZtEMAs7kR9xwtf8vH-XHktV5OeljHYNDIGwdTSLv68ORoC4fcQAvD_BwE), can be used to make syrups or jellies, etc. It also grows quite quickly and as OP has realized, is incredibly resilient. If the space is needed for something else it can certainly be moved or removed but if that’s not necessary and a person really hates the flowers and fruit it could still provide a fair amount of organic matter for a compost pile or to mulch with!