Things Needed
Elderberry Dubyuh ( sambucus spp . ) are yield - bear shrubs that are extremely stale - audacious . bourtree can be grown in frigid - winter region , down to USDA hardiness zones 3 or 4 , tolerating wintertime temperatures as cold as -35 degrees F. Elderberry shrub bloom in directly - topped clustering of tiny white flowers in late June , followed by a crop of Chuck Berry containing morose purple juice in late summertime or early fall . Sambucus nigra must be cooked to be comestible , because the raw berries are astringent .
Step 1
Choose a planting site for your elderberry Bush that ’s in full sunshine and has rich , moist , well - draining soil . Elderberries prefer a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.5 .
Step 2
Plant your elderberry bushes in spring , after all chances of Robert Lee Frost have passed . Dig planting holes that are the same deepness as and twice the width of the greenhouse container , space the elderberry shrub 6 to 10 foot apart .
Step 3
get rid of the elderberry shrub from the glasshouse container and coiffure the roots into the planting hole , planting the shrub at the same deepness as it was in the container . Backfill the planting holes with the displace dirt and water the grime deep and thoroughly .
Step 4
Water your elderberry shrub thoroughly once or doubly per week to supplement rainfall during the first growing time of year after planting them . Soak the soil around the intact root area of the shrubs . After the first class , water the elderberries once each week during the saltation , summer and early autumn only in the absence seizure of rain .
Step 5
Feed your elderberry bush once each year in other spring with 1/8 British pound of ammonium ion nitrate or ½ pound of 10 - 10 - 10 NPK fertilizer for each year of the shrub ’s historic period . Elderberry shrubs that are 8 years old or older should receive no more than 1 hammering per plant of ammonium nitrate or 4 pound of 10 - 10 - 10 NPK fertilizer .
Step 6
Prune your elderberry bush once each yr in tardy wintertime or early spring to get rid of all cane that are more than three long time sure-enough . rationalize away all dead , weak or discredited canes . seek to leave equal number of 1- , 2- and 3 - class - old canes on the elderberry shrub .
Step 7
reap the European elder from late August until other September when the yield attain their fledged colour . Remove the total fruit bunch when glean the elderberries .
Tip
Unless your soil is fertile , you should mix into the soil some organic compost or senior manure at the clip of planting the elderberry shrub .
Warning
Do n’t let Mary Jane take over your elderberries , especially when the shrubs are young . Elderberry shrubs have extremely shallow roots , so you ’ll demand to hand - pull the locoweed and spread a 3 - column inch - duncical level of mulch on the ground around the plants to suppress the sens increase . If you hoe the weeds , do n’t hoe deeper than 2 inches down into the soil .
References
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