This video has given me courage to prune them! I had small berries last year because I just let them grow. Actually, I just make syrup and " champagne" with the flowers because my berries are so small and the birds eat them all. Hoping for fruit this year.
thank you for this vid. last yr I pruned 1 elderberry at about 3-4 ft, and another at ground level. the first 1 is filled out perfect and the flowers will start this week.(its about 12 ft rite now) the ground level 1 is also doing good, but a long from flowers yet (july8) all the willd ones have flowered and are red berrys by now. this may be a way to space out the harvest
Thank you! I'm in OH too. Guessing it's too late to trim mine. One has a dead limb and the other is growing pretty much horizontally. It's only been one year and they were very young when I got them. Hopefully it will be okay until next early spring/late winter.
Thank you for this detailed tutorial! We have 4 large (12ft) bushes. Now I know exactly how they need pruning. Should I wait until March to prune? We will probably have another freeze before the end of March.
Thank you so much for your amazing advice. I am also in Ohio. This is my first year pruning and I had planned on going to the ground but I think I will do what you are doing. Is late February also an ok time to prune in Ohio?
I hope you’re still monitoring this account for answering questions. I’m thinking of starting with one pre-grown plant at home and raising a row of elderberry from that plant over time (hoping it won’t take too long). My question is, what do I do when the pieces I’ve been trimming get too thick for the trimming shears and how long will it take to get to that point?
Hi Troy, Elderberry is a semi-deciduous bush. It will take about three to four years before you would need loppers to trim the older canes. If they would get too big for loppers (loppers can cut of to two inch diameter limbs, you could use a pruning saw or sawsall with a pruning blade. If you are establishing the new plant this year, do not trim it until it's second full year. After that, you can prune it every later winter/early spring. Store the cuttings in a ziplock freezer bag with a damp napkin in the fridge until the ground has warmed up and you are ready to stick them in the ground. Do not prune elderberries any time other than later winter/early spring, when they are still dormant.
We made jam out of these 2 years ago but we will make a separate video of it probably next year. Elderberry season is over now. We will show you the update of the bushes next time when we prune it again. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you so much for this very informative video! I'm 76 and honestly, the idea of climbing up a ladder to pick is a scary idea! So pruning them is a great idea for me. Mine are now in the ground since summer 2020. Time to get out the Felco pruners in early spring. BTW, how do you keep the birds off? Very annoying.
Thank you for your kind words. We used bird scare tape/ribbon on our elderberry bushes like this one👇 Kugge Bird Flash Tape (1in,360ft), Double Side Reflective Ribbon, Protect Your House, Garden, Orchard a.co/d/je8TttX
Deer don't really bother our elderberries so we don't put cages around them. Birds only get into them so we put scared tape on top of the bushes. It keeps the birds away.
We want to start an elderberry patch and hopefully then expand slowly. We are in Ohio also. About 25 min from Mansfield. Where are you located in Ohio ?
About the same. We have more to plant next week if this weather cooperates from the cuttings we got. They have nice roots already and some has berries too.
Thank you. I learned a lot. I bought some trees and realize that I have some elderberry that came up naturally next to our little river. Are they save to eat? Thanks
If it is black elderberry then yes. They call it Sambucus Nigra. All Ederberry bushes/plants are part of the Nightshade family. NEVER eat green berries, leaves, stems or bark. Eating too many raw (black) elderberries may make you sick but processing them like canning, pies, jam, juice etc. is quite healthy and tasty.
We have not had any sawfly problems on our elderberry bushes. Here is a helpful article on 13 Natural ways to get rid of sawfly larvae. drecampbell.com/natural-ways-get-rid-sawflies.
Late winter (now) is the best time to collect cuttings from your elderberry bushes, while they are dormant. Place the 8" to 10" cuttings in gallon zip-lock bags with a damp paper towel and put in the refrigerator until you are ready to start.
Hi Tammy! If you planted American elderberry, you'll want to prune them in late winter to early spring while still dormant. If you planted European elderberries, you'll prune the same time as American elderberries but you will wait 2 years to prune.
Can that worm get into Blackberry canes? I had big healthy, beautiful canes that all started to die right after flowering, made me sick. But it was only some canes on the same plant, soe remained fine. What part of Ohio are you in?
I've been trying to grow elderberries for a few yrs. I get alot of flowers & green berries This yr I finally harvested purple berries but only a small amt in relation to all the green berries I had. Put up some netting over top. I did not see green berries on the ground, idk what happened. My plants were 8-10' tall.
@@TheMillersWay I'm thinking I want to move some of the elderberries to the west side of my property. Would you suggest doing this in the fall or spring? Should I prune them to waist high before I move or down to the ground?
You should definitely transplant them in Spring while they are still dormant. You can cut them to knee high or to the ground, either way, doesn’t matter. They are easier to handle if you leave 1 to 2 feet to hold on to when removing rootball. Do you want to move them or you want to plant more? If you want to grow more, you can just stick cuttings to the ground, they are easy to grow. We will make a video of it this Spring.
American elderberrie has a 6 to 8 foot bush growth habit. European elderberry is more of a small tree and can grow to 20 feet tall. The bark is a bit more coarse on the European elderberry trunk and tends to grow as a single trunk.
If your elderberry "tree" is 20 foot high and has coarse, tree-like bark (which I'm sure it does), You should cut is back to the ground next march before it starts to grow again. The roots will send up lots of new shoots.
I’m pruning for the first time this year and this video was an excellent resource. Thanks
That’s good to know. Glad we could help. Thanks for stopping by.
Super informative. Thanks from a newbie
Glad it was helpful!
Straight shooter. Appreciate you and sharing what you know!
Thank you. Glad we can help.
Thanks for the most amazing detailed explanation on pruning elderberry.
Thank you! Glad we can help. Thank you for stopping by!
This video has given me courage to prune them! I had small berries last year because I just let them grow. Actually, I just make syrup and " champagne" with the flowers because my berries are so small and the birds eat them all. Hoping for fruit this year.
You can do it!
You did a great job of answering all my elderberry pruning questions. Thank you.
You're welcome. Glad we can help.
thank you for this vid. last yr I pruned 1 elderberry at about 3-4 ft, and another at ground level. the first 1 is filled out perfect and the flowers will start this week.(its about 12 ft rite now) the ground level 1 is also doing good, but a long from flowers yet (july8) all the willd ones have flowered and are red berrys by now. this may be a way to space out the harvest
Thank you for your reply
You’re welcome!
Thanks for the great video and lesson. Just wondering what brand pruning shears you use? Look and sound like they do a very efficient job.
Me too!
Thank you! I'm in OH too. Guessing it's too late to trim mine. One has a dead limb and the other is growing pretty much horizontally.
It's only been one year and they were very young when I got them. Hopefully it will be okay until next early spring/late winter.
Thank you for all the good information!
You're welcome. Thank you for stopping by.
The only spots that I could use for elderberry are 5 feet wide. Can I prune it to limit its growth? Can I keep it potted?
Thank you for this detailed tutorial! We have 4 large (12ft) bushes. Now I know exactly how they need pruning. Should I wait until March to prune? We will probably have another freeze before the end of March.
Hindi ko alam kung ano ang elderberry sis🤗. Basta enjoy lang ako kinig sa hubby mo. Included pa scientific name ng mga berries😮🤩. Full support here😍
Awww! Thanks sissy!
yan ata yun kuya/ate ng mga berry hehe...
Excellent. Thank you.
Thank you! Glad our video helps!
Thank you so much for your amazing advice. I am also in Ohio. This is my first year pruning and I had planned on going to the ground but I think I will do what you are doing. Is late February also an ok time to prune in Ohio?
Yes. It is okay to prune on late February. Thank you for stopping by.
I hope you’re still monitoring this account for answering questions. I’m thinking of starting with one pre-grown plant at home and raising a row of elderberry from that plant over time (hoping it won’t take too long). My question is, what do I do when the pieces I’ve been trimming get too thick for the trimming shears and how long will it take to get to that point?
Hi Troy,
Elderberry is a semi-deciduous bush. It will take about three to four years before you would need loppers to trim the older canes. If they would get too big for loppers (loppers can cut of to two inch diameter limbs, you could use a pruning saw or sawsall with a pruning blade.
If you are establishing the new plant this year, do not trim it until it's second full year. After that, you can prune it every later winter/early spring. Store the cuttings in a ziplock freezer bag with a damp napkin in the fridge until the ground has warmed up and you are ready to stick them in the ground.
Do not prune elderberries any time other than later winter/early spring, when they are still dormant.
waiting for your version of the JAM and Syrup..could i prune now? or when is the best time? and i would like to see how they looked 3 weeks ago.
We made jam out of these 2 years ago but we will make a separate video of it probably next year. Elderberry season is over now. We will show you the update of the bushes next time when we prune it again. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you so much for this very informative video! I'm 76 and honestly, the idea of climbing up a ladder to pick is a scary idea! So pruning them is a great idea for me. Mine are now in the ground since summer 2020. Time to get out the Felco pruners in early spring. BTW, how do you keep the birds off? Very annoying.
Thank you for your kind words. We used bird scare tape/ribbon on our elderberry bushes like this one👇
Kugge Bird Flash Tape (1in,360ft), Double Side Reflective Ribbon, Protect Your House, Garden, Orchard a.co/d/je8TttX
Do you have a problem with deer eating the leaves and berries off of the plants? Do you put cages around them? Thanks
Deer don't really bother our elderberries so we don't put cages around them. Birds only get into them so we put scared tape on top of the bushes. It keeps the birds away.
@@TheMillersWay Thanks
We want to start an elderberry patch and hopefully then expand slowly. We are in Ohio also. About 25 min from Mansfield. Where are you located in Ohio ?
We are here in Willard. About 35 mins from Mansfield.
@@TheMillersWay we have 12 plants so far but this is our first year to plant them. How many do you have started?
About the same. We have more to plant next week if this weather cooperates from the cuttings we got. They have nice roots already and some has berries too.
Thank you. I learned a lot. I bought some trees and realize that I have some elderberry that came up naturally next to our little river. Are they save to eat? Thanks
If it is black elderberry then yes. They call it Sambucus Nigra. All Ederberry bushes/plants are part of the Nightshade family. NEVER eat green berries, leaves, stems or bark. Eating too many raw (black) elderberries may make you sick but processing them like canning, pies, jam, juice etc. is quite healthy and tasty.
Black yes. Red berries no
Hi, do you ever have any sawfly larvae? I spend a lot of time picking them off my bushes every year. Any advice? They come in late May.
We have not had any sawfly problems on our elderberry bushes. Here is a helpful article on 13 Natural ways to get rid of sawfly larvae. drecampbell.com/natural-ways-get-rid-sawflies.
When is the best time to collect elderberry cuttings for propagating it?
Late winter (now) is the best time to collect cuttings from your elderberry bushes, while they are dormant. Place the 8" to 10" cuttings in gallon zip-lock bags with a damp paper towel and put in the refrigerator until you are ready to start.
I planted elderberry this year. The plants are getting about 5’ tall. Should prune now or in the early spring. I’m in ohio.
Hi Tammy! If you planted American elderberry, you'll want to prune them in late winter to early spring while still dormant. If you planted European elderberries, you'll prune the same time as American elderberries but you will wait 2 years to prune.
@@TheMillersWay thank you.
Can that worm get into Blackberry canes? I had big healthy, beautiful canes that all started to die right after flowering, made me sick. But it was only some canes on the same plant, soe remained fine.
What part of Ohio are you in?
Yes they get into those. We are 30 mins away from Cedar Point
Almost every ranch is breaking at truck. Leaves look great but all big branches are broken. Worm?
Do I do the same with a lacey lemon elderberry? It's starting to cover my window.
Lemony Lace Elderberry (Sambucus Racemosa) are an ornamental bush with red berries. These berries should NEVER be eaten.
I've been trying to grow elderberries for a few yrs. I get alot of flowers & green berries
This yr I finally harvested purple berries but only a small amt in relation to all the green berries I had. Put up some netting over top. I did not see green berries on the ground, idk what happened. My plants were 8-10' tall.
Where are you located? Did you have a drought this summer? When did you put the netting up?
@TheMillersWay I'm near Saratoga NY. Put up netting after berries budded. No drought & watered a few times a week
@@TheMillersWay I'm thinking I want to move some of the elderberries to the west side of my property. Would you suggest doing this in the fall or spring? Should I prune them to waist high before I move or down to the ground?
You should definitely transplant them in Spring while they are still dormant. You can cut them to knee high or to the ground, either way, doesn’t matter. They are easier to handle if you leave 1 to 2 feet to hold on to when removing rootball. Do you want to move them or you want to plant more? If you want to grow more, you can just stick cuttings to the ground, they are easy to grow. We will make a video of it this Spring.
I don’t remember which type of elderberries I planted, how do you tell whether they are American or European?
American elderberrie has a 6 to 8 foot bush growth habit. European elderberry is more of a small tree and can grow to 20 feet tall. The bark is a bit more coarse on the European elderberry trunk and tends to grow as a single trunk.
What if the tree is about 20 feet high already ?
If your elderberry "tree" is 20 foot high and has coarse, tree-like bark (which I'm sure it does), You should cut is back to the ground next march before it starts to grow again. The roots will send up lots of new shoots.
My Elderberry doesn’t produce many berries, why?
Maybe you need to start pruning them starting this Spring.