Elderberry or elderflower is a native to Europe and North America and is a small, shrub-like tree. The medicinal berries are used to treat colds and flu and as a general immune booster, and can be eaten cooked or made into a syrup and saved for Winter. The leaves and stems are poisonous, and the raw fruit should probably not be consumed in large quantities but we eat small amounts with no ill effects. The flowers can also be made into a delicious fermented drink.

 

Sources online say elderberries prefer hot, dry spots and can tolerate poor soils, but we have found they grow best in partial shade and moist soil, with the leaves getting sunburnt if grown in full sun. It is great as an understorey in a food forest or on the shady side of a house or garden. Some cultivars require two plants for pollination but ours are self fertile. Plants can flower and fruit from their first year. 

 

Elderberry has as potential to be spread by birds in colder regions of the country but does not seem to spread in areas with mild Winters, probably due to the seeds needing cold temperatures to germinate. 

We have two varieties: 

Evergreen Elderberry

This wonderful plant is a new favourite in our food forest systems. It grows into a large shrub or small tree, 3-4m high, with huge clusters of flowers and fruit. Unlike every other cultivar of elderberry we have grown or seen in New Zealand this variety is evergreen, actively growing and flowering right through winter. It also grows significantly faster than other elderberry varieties. It is tolerant of some shade, heavy or wet soils, and it can handle wind exposure too.

These qualities make it a fantastic support species for food forests, providing chop and drop and quick shelter, and also persisting in the medium strata as the forest grows up around it.

It can handle a heavy prune and recovers quickly, but its upright habit makes it much easier to manage in a row system than tithonia and bana or other support species which have a sprawling habit.

It is not self fertile, so if fruit is desired another variety is required. 

Adams

A variety well suited to NZ, including northland. produces large clusters of flowers and fruit. It is self fertile, and is also a good pollinator for the Evergreen Elderberry.
 

 

Size: 1.3L