Blue Elderberry
Sambucus caerulea
Plant size: #1
10–20 feet high x 6–13 feet wide
Zone 3
Full to part sun
Out of stock
A North American native; can be found on occasion in the wild in Wyoming. Large clusters of white blooms in late spring mature to powder-blue, edible berries by late summer. ONLY the berries are edible. Best for wine, preserves, jam, syrup, and jellies. Green leaflets and rest of plant are poisonous if ingested. Plant in moist well-drained soils. Consider growing under or near aspen, a naturally occurring co-habitant. Self-fruiting, no pollinator required; a partner can help increase yield.
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Throughout this site, the following are used as guidelines for watering established plants:
These truly xeric plants can live with our 12 inches of natural annual precipitation and only need a winter watering during a multi-year drought, but they will thrive with a monthly watering. Overwatering will kill some of these. These plants are adapted to intermittent deep
watering with soil drying to a depth of a few inches between waterings. Watering frequency may be every couple of weeks during the active growing season and maybe only one winter watering for optimal care. These plants need regular watering somewhat like a bluegrass lawn so that
they never dry to depth in the root system during the active growing season, and need occasional winter watering to prevent root dessication and resultant plant
death. About sizes of our plants:
Sizes indicated with a # are roughly the equivalent in gallonage; so a #2 is about a 2 gallon pot size; b&b stands for balled and burlapped.