Elderberry

Elderberry bush is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to a height and width of 6 meters, rarely reaching a height of 10 m. Berries have one of the highest antioxidant capacities among edible berries.

Short description of the species

Botanical name

Elderberry

Latin name

Sambucus nigra

Family

Adoxaceae

Origin

native to the forested temperate and subtropical regions of the northern and southern hemispheres

Crop classification

miscellaneous fruit

Growing shape

bush, tree

Spacing

6 x 4-4,5m

Soil type

they can tolerate a wide range of soils and environmental conditions

Soil pH

they require slightly acidic soils, in the range of pH 5.5 to 6.5

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Interesting

European red elder (Sambucus racemosa) is highly toxic to humans and is not recommended for commercial fruit production. It is mainly used as an attractive landscaping plant, but due to its toxicity, extreme caution is required.

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Usage

syrups from flowers, jams, jams and wine from fruits

Suitable growing locations

It is mainly suited to southern to southwestern exposures, where it will bloom profusely and provide a large harvest of fruits. It is a light-loving plant, but it also thrives in partial shade. It grows on fresh, humous, loose loamy, sandy-loamy or even clayey soils rich in nutrients and especially nitrogen, light and heavier, but moderately moist and loose. It is characterized by considerable resistance to winter frosts and is not in danger of being damaged even by spring frosts, as it blooms (depending on the area) from May to July.

Cultivation technology

It has a basitonic character of growth with a tendency to form a small tree, the possibility of growing in the shape of a straight-rooted tree. Fertility is ensured by one-year shoots growing from older wood and on the growth, in order to achieve a higher quality of fruits and a regular harvest, fertility is oriented towards strong shoots growing annually from older wood after a deep cut. A suitable clip is 6.0 x 4.0-4.5 m. The tree forms a quarter trunk with 10-15 basic branches, which are regularly renewed. Every year, during the spring cut, two-year-old branches are removed and replaced by strong shoots growing from the base of the crown, while the number of remaining shoots increases gradually to 10 to 15.  

Suitable varieties 

Sambo, Haschberg, Donau, Heidegg 17 

Diseases and pests 

diseases: powdery mildew, verticillium wilt, spotting, root rot 

pests: aphids, Japanese drosophila, mites