Now I must start researching if elderberries will grow in my climate zone!
The whole elder plant is medicinal (not just the berries). Did you know that?
Learn more and read our seed description for Blue Elder:
https://homesteadculture.com/blue-elderberry/
https://video.nostr.build/c5e7d41ee51996ac89079637a9ab7eff0bfca7e94dbac6a44ed4706dc2d0fca2.mp4
#herbalmedicine #elderberry #sambucus #seedstewards #homesteading #permaculture
Discussion
As long as you're not in the tropics or the polar regions there's probably a species suitable for your local climate
Here in NL nearly every house in the countryside has one or a few elderberry's planted close to it. Most people forgot why, but it's still very visible especially in May when they flower (elderflower syrup, yummy 😋)
Yep I've found a variety I can grow here. When the rain fi ally starts again I'll plant a few and see how they go.
thanks for the share! what zone are you in?
I'm in an Australian zone 6 which is roughly equivalent to a 7-9 USDA zone. It's a Mediterranean climate with a very hot, dry summer and a cold winter with frost but no snow.
we are also in Mediterranean climate usually zone 7b. Elder does very well here, we even have our native blue elder which ranges from Mexico all the way up into Canada. you can definitely grow elder! some varieties may be better suited to your climate but with enough water they should do really well there!
Be careful where you plant, we planted one a few years back, now pulling them out everywhere .
If I had that problem I would celebrate an abundance of elderberries! One person's weed is another person's lover. But to be fair it's a good warning, I love mint, raspberries and other creepers but take in consideration where I plant them. But seriously you must have fertile soil and lots of water... there are worst things in life! 💚🙏🏼
Sub Tropical, most things turn into weeds 🥰. My elderberry like 95%of yard was a broken stick stolen from another’s yard(👀😳) and stuck in the ground, nearly everything just grows,.
What zone are you in? Northern Missouri here, so zone 5b I believe, and I’ve found clumps of wild elderberries on our property…
Something between 7-9. We have pretty dry summers here so that would be my only concern. We've only had 6mm of rain since the start of the year. But we've got the infrastructure in place to supplement water as needed. I'm looking into some companion planting options and maybe I'll put in an elderberry guild when the rain starts.
Good luck to you! I followed you so I can hopefully get to see your progress, and bee encouraged too. :)
How much rain do you get annually? Depending you may need to offer supplemental irrigation to get good fruit crop. Elders like lots of water as a general rule, but some varieties, at least here on the west coast and the ones that adapted to living in the rain shadow have much more drought tolerance. Depending if you are zone 7, 8 or 9 you'll have the best result if you look for genetics from similar zone and rainfall. Good luck!
We get around 750mm a year but we have a very dry summer with almost no rainfall at all so would need something fairly drought hardy. I'll see what I can find with others locally who are having success.
Oh interesting, that sounds similar to our climate here! Summer is our arid dry season as well.
So cool that you have wild elders growing on your land!! Do you know what kind they are? Are they the native black variety? What a gift! We are zone 7bish in southern Oregon. I love how adaptable and giving elder is!