Peat substrates. Peat substrate: advantages and disadvantages. What is a peat substrate for?
With the word "elder" we usually do not have any particularly refined emotions and ideas, except for those that this is an ordinary shrub that grows at every step in the countryside. What can not be said about gardening gourmets who already know a lot about current trends landscape fashion. Moreover, the simple elderberry has long ceased to be such, thanks to the emergence of new forms and promising varieties. In this article, I will try to discover the inconspicuous and common elderberry as a new shrub exclusively for the modern garden!
“Is it in the garden in the garden ...”, or Where does the elder grow?
The elderberry genus (Sambucus) from the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) grows in the temperate and subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere, South America and Australia. Its habitual habitats are undergrowth in mixed forests, edges, damp river banks and roadsides, which speaks of a moisture-loving and at the same time hardy character.
Elderberry can grow as a tree or shrub from 3.5 to 10 m tall. Its branched shoots adorn large leaves up to 30 cm long, pinnate, with oblong, ovate leaves on short petioles. Elderberry has two decorative periods - the first in May, when it blooms with fragrant yellow-white flowers collected in corymbs. And the second wave of her charm begins in August and continues until frost, when the bushes are covered with black and purple clusters. small berries against the background of bright foliage. Flowering and fruiting begins at three years.
Flowering and fruiting begins at three years.
In total, about 40 species of elder are known, but mainly three species are used in horticulture - black elder (Sumbucus nigra), Canadian elder (S. canadensis) and red elder, or racemose (S. racemosa).
Black elderberry (S. nigra)
The most popular species among the rest, it has a lot of advantages, useful qualities and decorative forms with colored, variegated and even purple leaves, it is also characterized increased productivity, excellent taste and fruit size. Black elderberry is a shrub with a height of 3.5 to 6 m. The leaves are pinnate, consisting of 5 petals with a little bad smell. The flowers are whitish-cream and fragrant, collected in racemes, and some forms, such as those with purple foliage, have hints of lemon aroma. The fruits are edible and decorative at the same time, they are shiny drupes of black glossy color, sweet and sour in taste. But the roots, leaves and bark of black elderberry, on the contrary, are poisonous! Which can also be used in everyday life, which will be discussed a little later. In the climatic conditions of Ukraine, freezing of shoots can be in exceptional cases, with very low temperatures. But this is not so scary because of the ability to quickly recover.
Forms and varieties
Yellow-leaved varieties: Aurea Foliage is golden to lime. - the leaves are first saturated golden yellow, later brighten, becoming white-yellow. Aureo-variegata- the variety has golden-variegated foliage.
Variegated varieties: and Albopunctata- Foliage with a white border and spots. - has white foliage with rare green spots. bimble- leaves sprinkled yellow spots. - the leaves have an irregular silver-cream border.
Purple and openwork varieties: Foliage is green in spring, turning bright purple in summer, as are the shoots. flowers pink shade when blooming, blossoming, they acquire a white-pink color. The most beautiful variety! Pink flowers with a citrus scent against purple foliage will win everyone's heart. Purple-black berries are not only beautiful, but also edible. The variety has dissected leaves, when blooming - a dark green color, which then gives way to inky purple. The flowers are pink with a lemon aroma, the fruits are tasty, traditionally black.
Split leaves look like fern fronds. Rotundifolia. A slow growing shrub with predominantly trifoliate leaves and wide, bright green leaves. Inflorescences openwork, scarce. The leaves are very openwork, strongly cut, similar to oak.
Varieties with original fruits: The fruits are large, green, in appearance and taste resemble gooseberries. Fructo-Luteo. The fruits are creamy golden, sometimes with a red barrel, ripening very slowly. Sampo. industrial grade with medium-sized brushes and very large fruits with great taste.
Varieties with original flowers: Plena. The flowers are white, double. Roseiflora. Flowers solitary, pale pink. Purpurea. The leaves are bronze, with a metallic sheen. The flowers in buds are pale pink, the stamens are pink. Flowers are double, pale pink. Viridis. Inflorescences pale green. The set fruits of the same color later become white or transparent-striped.
Weeping varieties: Hessey. Crown with curved branches. Pendula. Weeping shoots. They look spectacular in the grafted form on the trunk. Dwarf varieties: Witches Broom. Semi-evergreen dwarf variety up to 45 cm tall with a cushion-shaped crown. The only drawback is the lack of flowering. Pygmy. Very compact crown, bush up to 60 cm tall. Pyramidalis. Upright habit with a wide base and a dense crown.
Canadian elderberry (S. canadensis)
This type of elder differs from black elder rather in resistance to adverse conditions and excellent winter hardiness than appearance. Barely perceptible difference in size and shade of fruits and leaves. According to the growing conditions, it prefers moist, loamy soils, is not afraid of the proximity of groundwater and shade.
Forms and varieties
Acutiloba. It has strongly dissected pinnate leaves of a yellowish tint. The fruits are red-black. Argenteomarginata. The leaves are covered with silvery spots and a border. Aurea. Spring bright yellow foliage turns green in summer period and autumn brings everything back to normal. Cherry fruits, edible. Chlorocarpa. The variety is similar to the previous one, but, in addition to the leaves, it is interesting for its unusual green fruits and spectacular flowering. Openwork form due to double-pinnate foliage. Strong, tall bush with inflorescences up to 40 cm in diameter. rubra. The fruits are pale red.
Red elderberry (S. racemosa)
A distinctive feature of this type of elder is a specific smell and red inedible fruits. Shade-tolerant enough, but it will look more impressive in good lighting. It has interesting decorative forms, perfectly tolerates a haircut and adverse conditions.
Forms and varieties
Nana. Compact dwarf form. One of bright varieties with beautiful golden cut foliage. The flowers are yellow-green, they are replaced by bright red fruits, lighting up rubies against a sunny yellow background. Similar to the previous variety, but differs from it in greater dissection of the leaves and resistance to sunburn. goldenlocks. A plant up to 75 cm tall with golden yellow deeply dissected leaves that remain decorative even in bright sun. Purpurea. Variety with pink or purple flowers. Flavescens. The variety is distinguished by an unusual orange side of the fruit. Shrub with a slow growth rate, reaches 1.5 m in height. The shoots are curved with an arc with split, fern-like leaves, which, when blooming, have a purple hue. The texture of the sheet is thin, almost veil-like, deeply dissected.
Why is elderberry revered?
Elderberry is a plant with meaning, it was not only feared, but respected at all times. She has always been a protective talisman against evil spirits and controversial material for conspiracies and rituals. Well, on the practical side, it is the black elderberry that to this day endows its owners with a medicinal crop of flowers and berries. For example, black elderberry flowers are prepared useful decoctions, which have antibacterial and diaphoretic properties, help with colds. The collection of flowers begins in May-June, when the color is revealed in all its glory. Berries, sour-sweet in taste, not less than useful product black elderberry, harvested in August-September, when they finally ripen. They make healthy and tasty dessert dishes - jams, jellies, tinctures, wine, etc.
Black elderberry jam
Ingredients: berries - 1 kg; sugar - 1.5 kg; water - 0.5 l. Mix water with sugar and boil syrup. Then add the berries and cook for up to 2 hours until thick. At the very end, add a half teaspoon citric acid. Leave the berry mass to cool, then rub through a sieve, pour into a sterilized glass container and roll up the lid. You can do it differently. Immerse the berries for 5 minutes in boiling water so that the sugar penetrates through the skin more easily, then pour them with hot sugar and water syrup and cook until fully cooked. Medicinal properties such twists persist for up to 3 years. But not all elderberry can be eaten. For example, the red racemose relative is very poisonous and, as a rule, you rarely see it in the garden.
But not all elderberry can be eaten. For example, the red racemose relative is very poisonous.
However, due to its sharp repellent smell, it can be a good assistant in the expulsion of pests. You just need to plant it along the cesspools, latrines, where harmful living creatures in the form of flies often originate. Or shove a couple of broken branches into a mole hole as a "treat" so that it would be discourteous to covet someone else's crop.
Features of planting and care
Growth conditions. As mentioned earlier, elderberry is an unpretentious plant that can grow on almost any soil, withstanding excess moisture and shade. Prefers loamy, slightly acidic soils with a pH of 6-6.5. However, yellow-leaved and variegated varieties will better show their decorative qualities in sunny places. Elder will put up with all the conditions that you can offer her, except for the drought. Therefore, during dry periods, it is necessary to provide the plant with abundant watering.
Elder will put up with all the conditions that you can offer her, except for the drought.
Pruning features. In the spring, remove dry and thickening branches from the black elderberry to maintain a good crown shape. Cut to the base of the shoots annually, leaving 10 cm from the ground, about a quarter of the old branches, to encourage new growth. The shoots will grow 1.5–2 m per season, and the crown will become healthier and the coloring more intense. However, after a radical pruning of red elderberry, you can not wait for flowering this year, as it blooms on last year's shoots. Reproduction. If you have rare variety and you need to propagate it, then this can be done without much effort by layering. Elderberry will take root very quickly, one has only to pin its stalk into moist soil. Pest protection. Alkaloids contained in the leaves and shoots of elderberry and essential oils not only provide protection from pests to the plant itself, but also serve as a "protector" for neighboring ones. We can say that elderberry has the most environmentally friendly crop due to the unique properties of self-defense.
Elderberry in a garden landscape
After getting acquainted with the variety of types and forms of elder, no one, I hope, has any doubt that today the elder is a promising plant and will be able to take its rightful place in the garden. For example… 1. You only need a pruner, and now on your site it’s not just elderberry, but stylized as Japanese garden a plant with foliage like a red-leaved maple. 2. If your garden is decorated in natural style, then the elderberry will serve as an undergrowth for a grove or will successfully fit on the shore of a reservoir. 3. blooming pink varieties will make any corner in the garden mysteriously attractive. 4. In rocky gardens or in any other area, dwarf forms will fit perfectly, and weeping varieties can be grafted onto a trunk - and here you have the original highlight tree of the site. 5. Elderberry is plastic and very suitable, which will be consistently decorative throughout the season, changing the flowering period to beautiful clusters of delicious berries.
The black elderberry is without a doubt the best known and most used species of the genus Sambucus (Elderberry). Its fruits are used to make jams, preserves, as well as for tinctures and liqueurs. Black elderberries are part of the famous Italian sambuca. The liquor owes its name to elderberry: sambucus is the Latin name of the plant.
Systematics and folk names
For the first time scientific description the bush was given by Karl Liney, giving it the name Sambucusnigra - black elderberry. Subsequently, scientists attributed the plant to the Honeysuckle family. After some time, black elderberry, like all species of the genus, was assigned to the Adox family. But having studied chemical features and the structure of the elderberry gametophyte, scientists poured the genus into a separate family.
Black elderberry is a member of the monotypic elderberry family (Sambucaceae). It has 28 species of herbaceous and woody plants.
Popular names for shrubs: buz, sambuk, treeless.
The external and internal structure of black elderberry
Black elder may have two life forms: shrub or tree. This is deciduous plant can reach a height of 5 m, with a trunk diameter of 10-15 cm. The bark of the elderberry is light, grayish, covered with cracks. Young shoots, green, with a white soft core. Brown lenticels clearly stand out on non-lignified branches.
The root system is pivotal, but over time, many additional roots form in the shrub, and root system becomes similar to fibrous.
Compound pinnate leaves, arranged oppositely, reach 40 cm. simple leaves, of which it is complex, oval-elongated, with a pointed end and a serrated edge. The venation is reticulate, with a short fluff on the main veins.
Note: Black elderberry leaves emit an unpleasant odor when crushed.
Small five-membered actinomorphic flowers of the plant are collected in brushes in the form of a shield. The diameter of the perianth does not exceed 0.5 cm. The inflorescence is divided into five main branches - this feature black elderberry. The color of the petals is white or yellowish. Stamens, as a rule, 5, but may be 4. Pistil one, lower ovary. Blooms from May to June.
The fruit is a drupe with three seeds, according to the number of carpels that make up the ovary. The fruits are popularly called berries, their color is black or dark purple.
Place in ecosystems
Black elder grows on the edges and in the undergrowth of mixed and deciduous forests. The plant is included in the shrub layer, growing in lighted places: on the edges, clearings, roadsides of forest roads and clearings.
The range of black elderberry is very wide, but limited to the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in Europe, Asia, North America, and parts of Africa.
Growing conditions for black elderberry
The black elder belongs to undemanding plants requiring minimal maintenance. It is easy to grow even for those who have never cultivated plants. In fact, it can be considered weed, because it grows rapidly, forming continuous thickets and crowding out other plants.
Lighting
The shrub loves good lighting, can grow in direct sun: elderberry does not get burns from ultraviolet radiation. The plant can grow in partial shade, but for good development, elderberry needs to be in the sun for at least a couple of hours a day. It can be a place that is lit only in the morning or in the evening.
substrate
Elderberry is not demanding on substrates, it grows equally well on medium and heavy soils. The acidity that is suitable for a shrub ranges from slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5.5-7.0).
Watering
The shrub withstands dry periods, but tends to wet places. When grown in gardens, elderberry needs additional watering during a long absence of rains. To preserve moisture, the soil around young plants can be mulched with bark, straw or sawdust.
Fertilizer
Fertilize black elderberry with organic and mineral fertilizers once a year. Mineral complex fertilizers can be dissolved or solid. Both those and others to use in the spring.
For organic feeding solid compost and manure will do. How Liquid Fertilizers Use Solution chicken manure or manure. Apply organic fertilizers before flowering, or after flowering during fruit ripening.
Note: First of all, elderberry varieties that are grown to obtain a berry crop need fertilizer.
Black elderberry pruning
Pruning is important for elderberry, which is forming a crown, usually these are separately growing individuals. Varieties of fruit-bearing elderberry, which are grown for the sake of berries, need to be cut once a year to renew the bush.
For a good yield, you need to remove weak shoots. Old branches that are over six years old should also be removed. The most fruitful are three-four summer shoots.
Uses of black elderberry
Elderberry is black I - the species most used by man from the genus Elderberry. It is simultaneously melliferous, decorative and medicinal. It is applied:
- for production alcoholic beverages;
- in landscape design;
- in folk and scientific medicine;
- in the chemical industry, for the production of natural paints;
- in the food industry (jams, marmalades, additives and food colorings);
- natural protection of plants from pests, as a natural insecticide;
- for the manufacture of crafts, toys and musical instruments;
- as a honey and pollen plant,
- to protect soil from erosion.
An interesting feature of the black elderberry is that its roots, stem and leaves are very poisonous, plants are not eaten by herbivores and insects. But, despite this, elderberry berries are edible: they are willingly eaten by birds and used by people.
Alcoholic drinks based on black elderberry
"Berries" of elderberry are part of liqueurs, liqueurs, alcohol and berry wines. Usually fruits are used in combination with other components. For example, in addition to elderberry, anise is added to sambuca.
Elderberry juice, which has a pronounced maroon color, is used to naturally color alcoholic beverages made from the fruits of other plants. The advantages of elderberry juice over synthetic dyes are that it does not have a detrimental effect on internal organs, contains vitamins and other useful components.
Black elderberry flowers contain essential oils, nectar and sugars (over 20%) that serve to naturally sweeten and flavor. They are used to give sparkling wines and cognacs a light floral scent with notes of nutmeg.
Note: Elderberry fruits and products based on it should not be consumed by pregnant women and children. People suffering from increased production of gastric juice, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, patients chronic hepatitis and diabetes mellitus, elderberry should not be consumed (or consult a doctor before use).
Black elderberry in gardening and landscaping
how ornamental plant you can use wild or bred forms of shrubs. Elderberry is fast growing, easy to form, and can form impenetrable thickets, so it is great for hedges.
Very effective single-growing elderberry during flowering. The varieties created by breeders, which have an unusual leaf color, are decorative from early spring to late autumn. "Aurea" - a variety with yellow-gold leaves, "Purpurea" - with burgundy or purple, and in the variety "Madonna", green foliage with yellow trim.
Also, a bright yellow stripe along the edge of the sheet is characteristic of the Aureamarginata variety, its name is translated from Latin as “gold on the edge”. All of the varieties listed above reach a height of 2-3 m, and thanks to unusual leaves harmoniously combined with many woody representatives of the plant world.
In addition to high varieties, varieties of black elderberry have been bred, the height of which does not exceed 1.5 m. Such varieties are suitable for alpine slides, rock gardens, compositions with boulders, for example, "Pulverulenta" with a marble pattern on the leaves.
Among the dwarf varieties of elderberry, the most famous "Viches Broom" - this baby is 20-30 cm in height, will decorate a flower bed or rock garden with its dark green leaves.
Varieties with pink flowers - "Gerda" and "Black Beauty". The latter, is distinguished by the colorful autumn coloring of the leaves.
Varieties created for berries do not differ in exquisite foliage, but their yield can exceed 7 kg per bush. In addition, the berries do not crumble on them. "Corsair", "Samba", "Hamburg", "Adam Elderserri", "Danau" are fruit-bearing varieties of black elderberry.
Insecticide properties of black elderberry
Elderberry is an unpretentious, rather beautiful deciduous shrub, whose homeland is Europe, North America, the Caucasus, Asia Minor. In the design of gardens and personal plots, it is still rare. More often it can be seen in neglected gardens, along ravines and wastelands, in suburban forests and forest belts, where it appears quite unexpectedly, being carried by birds.
This is what black elderberry looks like
Some consider elderberry a “weedy” plant, because they did not plant it and did not put any effort into growing it, others refer to ornamental species, appreciating the early green of its foliage, beautiful inflorescences, a spectacular array of red or black fruits, growth speed and great vitality. 
About 40 species of elderberry are known, of which six grow in Russia. The greatest distribution and interest are three species and their garden forms. We offer you a description of black, red and Canadian elderberry.
Elder red, description
Elder red (carpal) is a shrub with branched thick shoots covered with large buds. Height up to 4 m, can grow in the form of a tree. Already in April, the shoots, dotted with numerous lentils, begin to shine from the rising juices, the buds swell and burst. From the inside, reddish leaves and grayish green inflorescences are shown. At this time, the carpal elderberry is decorative.
This is what a red elderberry looks like
The shrub blooms in May simultaneously with the appearance of leaves. Leaves are pinnate with 5-7 leaflets, each 5-10 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, pointed at the apex and drawn into pointed up to 1 cm long, serrated along the edge, bright green above, glabrous, lighter below, along the veins sometimes pubescent.
Pictured is a red elderberry
The elderberry flowers are first light yellow, then fade, brighten, taking on a yellowish-white, sometimes creamy color. They are collected in terminal dense ovoid panicles 3-6 cm long and stand out slightly against the background of foliage. Flowering lasts about two weeks. Then green fruits are tied, and the shrub does not stand out against the background of the general summer greenery.
But by the end of July, the beauty of this type of elder returns again, fiery red fruits become visible. The branches bend under their weight. The fruits adorn the plant for 1-1.5 months, until they "harvest" the crop of birds, for which this is a tasty food. At this time, yellow leaves are already appearing inside the crown of the shrub. In autumn, after the first frost, the leaves fall off, without having time to completely change color.
Where does red elderberry grow
Elderberry reproduces well by seeds, which are carried everywhere by birds. It grows rapidly, forming abundant shoots at the root collar. In culture, it is used for single and group plantings, for decorating slopes. She is very resistant to climatic conditions but loves deep and loose fertile soils, responsive to fertilizers.
Large thickets of elderberry are found in pine forests, near cities where rooks nest. Here, the reaction of the plant to natural fertilizer in bird droppings is especially visible. And the elderberry itself enriches the soil, since its leaves contain a significant amount of ash substances.
The photo shows red elderberry leaves
Elderberry has been known in culture since the end of the 16th century. During this time at seed propagation many decorative forms were selected. Among them, the form of plumosa is known with unevenly toothed leaves that acquire a purple color at the time of leaf fall. In the gardens there are bushes with deeply dissected leaves, the lobes of which resemble threads, this is a form of laciniata. There are forms with purple buds and pinkish flowers. Flavescens form is distinguished by yellow fruits.
Description of black elderberry
Black elder differs sharply from red. Shrub or tree with much larger compound leaves (up to 32 cm long). The kidneys are pointed. Blooms after full foliage. It is especially decorative during the flowering period, when it is completely covered with white umbellate inflorescences up to 20 cm in diameter. A distinctive feature of this species is that the leaves smell unpleasant when rubbed, but the flowers are fragrant. Blooms in late May-early June.
Pictured is black elderberry Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’
Shiny black fruits 5-8 mm in diameter with 3-4 seeds ripen in September and adorn the shrub for a long time even after the leaves have fallen. With the onset of winter, it is pecked by birds.
Unlike the red elderberry, whose berries are poisonous, the ripe fruits of its black relative are edible and even have medicinal value (diaphoretic, laxative and emetic).
Black Elderberry Black Lace
The black elder also grows quickly, but is more thermophilic than the red one. Handles heat well southern region. To the north it becomes more light-loving, where it often freezes over, but with the onset of spring it grows quickly. Demanding on the soil and contributes to its improvement. 
The pulp of the fruit is tasty, sweetish-sour, used to make jam, compotes, jelly, etc.
Black elderberry has been cultivated since ancient times. It is ubiquitous in plantations of parks and suburban areas.
Pictured is Aurea
It has many decorative forms, differing in habitus (short, weeping, pyramidal), in leaf color, dissection of their leaves and fruit color. So, the variegated form has white-variegated leaves; aurea - golden yellow and cherry red fruits; laciniata - correctly and symmetrically deeply dissected leaves; luteo-variegata - yellow-flecked leaves; pendula - stands out with hanging branches.
In the photo, black elderberry Pendula
Black elderberry berries are used in folk medicine, but sometimes gardeners complain that despite the good, abundant flowering berries are not tied on the bushes. Most often this is due to improper cultivation of this shrub.
Planting and caring for elderberry
A black elderberry bush, planted alone, sometimes shows such oddities: some inflorescences form ovaries, others very little or no fruit set. But the main reason is not the loneliness of the bush, it can produce a crop, albeit a small one. 
In order for the plants to give more fruits, which means they are better pollinated, you need to plant 2-3 bushes different forms: at a distance of 2-2.5 m from one another (black, racemose - wild, Siberian - used in folk medicine). 
In some cases, elderberry does not set fruit due to malnutrition. This plant prefers fertile, moist soils and is responsive to fertilizers. AT landing pit make 7-8 kg of humus, 50 g of superphosphate, 40 g of potassium sulfate (potassium sulfate). After planting, the seedlings are watered, mulched, the aerial part is shortened to 25 cm. This dressing will last the plant for 2-3 years.
top dressing
Starting from the third year, in the spring they give nitrogen supplements (25-30 g of urea), treat with zircon (1 ampoule per 10 liters of water). In July, the plant is fed with complex fertilizer (cytovit). Treatment with zircon can be repeated after 15-20 days 3-4 times. 
In the autumn, before the bushes go into winter, the near-trunk circle can be overlaid with a layer of humus 10 cm thick. You can lay a freshly cut mass of green manure.
Bush formation
Black elderberry is formed in the form of a bush with 10-12 branches of different ages, height 2-2.5 m. Branches older than 6 years are cut into a ring.
If the bush is thickened, prune it: remove old branches, add humus (bucket) under the bush, wood ash(0.5-liter jar), complex mineral fertilizers. Water it regularly: at least twice a month, and in hot, dry summers, once every 10 days. The greatest need for water is after flowering and during the filling of berries. 
Black elder bears fruit on last year's branches. Therefore, in current year she must grow new annual branches. To do this, in early spring, shorten the tops of the shoots by a bud directed outward, and the side branches by 2-3 buds.
Every year it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning: cut out dry, improperly growing shoots directed inside the crown of the bush.
Perhaps the weather interfered with pollination: strong wind, rain. Under such conditions, pollinating insects do not fly.
You can apply a natural stimulant of flowering and fruiting Bud. It contains gibberellic acids that promote fruit set.
Elder bushes are sprayed with it in the morning or in the evening in dry, calm weather. The leaves are moistened evenly.
To prepare a working solution, right amount the drug (10 g per 10 liters of water) is dissolved in not in large numbers water, mix thoroughly, then add water to 10 l, mix again. It begins to act from the moment of treatment and continues for 1-3 months.
Canadian elderberry
Canadian elderberry is close to black elderberry. Originally from North America, it has large feathery leaves, yellowish-white flowers, fragrant, small, collected in large (up to 30 cm in diameter) umbrellas. The fruits are spherical, dark purple, shiny, about 5 mm in diameter, edible. Shoots glabrous at first green, then dark purple, slightly ribbed, with numerous lenticels.
Canadian elderberry has many decorative garden forms with different dissection and leaf color, with different fruits up to red. The most common form of acutifolia with strongly dissected leaves. It freezes annually, but blooms and bears fruit.
In culture, all types of elderberry are usually propagated by seeds, sowing them in the fall. For sowing in the spring, a long stratification (4 months) is required. 1000 pieces of red elderberry seeds weigh 2.5 g, and black - 3.3 g. Canadian elderberry forms root offspring. decorative forms elderberries, when grown from seeds, partially retain their characteristics mother plant. They can also be propagated by woody cuttings.
This is what Canadian elderberry looks like
Do you know that distinctive feature this shrub is not only the decorativeness of the plants themselves and its many forms?
Many gardeners have long noticed that there are no plant pests around the red elderberry, and they are trying to give this shrub a place on the site, propagating it with seeds, layering, and cuttings.
When growing elderberry, keep in mind that the inflorescences and bark contain valeric acid, which explains the love for it of cats that gnaw on the bark and often feast on the flowers of this beautiful and useful shrub.
photo of elderberry 
The widespread black elderberry finds its use both as a medicinal plant, so in the form of an ornamental planting. Using it on personal plot allows you to achieve multiple goals at the same time. First of all, this culture is amazingly beautiful. It fits seamlessly into any style. landscape design and allows you to decorate even the most sophisticated areas and parks. Secondly, the owner gets the opportunity to harvest healing berries and flowers. By the way, they are a valuable raw material, which is exported in large quantities by our country.
The botanical description of the black elder offered on this page is richly illustrated with photographs. This makes the perception of information more simple and fun. It is described in the article about the useful properties and application of culture, methods of growing and organizing the care of shrubs.
black elderberry plant
Family Honeysuckle.
The black elderberry plant is a relative of honeysuckle and viburnum, all these plants belong to the same family of honeysuckle. The Latin name Sambucus is believed to come from the three-stringed musical instrument sambuca, common in Iran, made from the wood of this plant.
Shrub or small tree 2-6(10) m tall with whitish bark. Trunk up to 30 cm in diameter.
Leaves 20-30 cm long, pinnate, with 3-9 oblong-ovate long-pointed unequally serrate lobes and small, rapidly falling stipules. The flowers are fragrant, creamy white, in apical dense umbellate panicles up to 20 cm in diameter.
Look at the black elderberry bush in the photo and the following description will be more convenient for perception and understanding:
The fruit is a juicy, black-violet, shiny berry-like drupe up to 6 mm in diameter, with 2-4 oblong flat stones and dark red flesh. It has a peculiar aroma and sour taste.
The bushes of the plant are voluminous, and the crown is usually rounded, while the adult branches hang down to the ground, and the young shoots grow vertically.
It blooms in May-June, the fruits ripen in August-September and remain on the plant after the leaves fall.
Where does the black elderberry grow and what does it look like (with photo)
Speaking about where the black elderberry grows and how it looks, it is worth noting that in the wild the shrub can be found in the middle zone of the European part of our country, in Ukraine, the Caucasus, Belarus, the Baltic states, the upper reaches of the Dnieper, the Volga region and further south . Elder grows in the undergrowth, deciduous forests, on the edges. Quite often cultivated in gardens and parks due to large inflorescences and very fragrant flowers.
On the territory of reserves it is found in the composition of forest communities and forest plantations along the bottoms of beams and in the valley. Forms groups and grows singly with an abundance of 1-2.
Look at the photo where the black elderberry grows, the main places where this shrub likes to settle are shown:
Growing black elderberry: reproduction and care
When growing black elderberry, planting and caring for shrubs may require some knowledge of the agricultural technology of this crop. We suggest you get them. Black elderberry grows well in a sunny place, but it can also grow in shading, but at the same time its shoots are stretched, and the leaves become pale in color. The plant itself is thermophilic and cannot be compared with winter hardiness with elderberry racemose or red elderberry. In addition to a sufficient amount of sun and heat, the plant loves fertile and sufficiently moist soil, which allows it to grow very quickly and bear fruit abundantly.
Before planting, it is necessary to dig a hole 50 cm deep and the area needed for a given root system. 3-4 kg of peat and last year's manure are placed in the prepared pit. After planting, the plant is well watered. Does not need special care.
This plant mainly grown near residential premises, since it has strong phytoncidal properties, and it repels not only rodents, but also some harmful insects like aphids, codling moth, moth.
Propagation of black elderberry can be carried out by sowing seeds in the fall in the ground, and in the spring for 4-month stratification. At the same time, with such reproduction, the properties of its variety are not transferred, therefore only vegetative methods are suitable. The plant remarkably cuts without treatment with growth stimulants at the end of June, and lignified cuttings are planted in the fall in the ground. In addition, black elderberry can be propagated by layering.
The use of black elderberry and its benefits
In medical practice, black elderberry is most often used in the form of dried flowers, which are often included in sweatshops. The benefits of black elderberry in diseases of the immune system, bronchial asthma, respiratory infections, chronic bronchitis, dermatoses, hemorrhoids, stomach ulcers, laryngitis and other diseases have been proven. Gargle with elderberry infusion, make poultices for rheumatic pains. In veterinary medicine, the fruits are used as an emetic. With therapeutic purpose flowers are used, as well as the bark of trunks and branches. An infusion made from dried elderberries is used to enhance diuresis, improve bile secretion, and promote the movement of intestinal contents. Marmalade is prepared from elderberries, which acts as a diuretic and laxative.
The fruits are poisonous, but they are often used as a seasoning and food coloring in cooking, flowers and fruits - in winemaking and cognac production. Elderberries, along with flowers, are used to make jam. Dried berries are used to make jelly.
Used as a dye, dyes silk blue. Wood that does not rot in water and damp earth is used for small crafts, piles, hollow stems - for musical instruments. AT rural areas Elderberry was often planted around grain barns, as it was believed that mice and rats could not stand its smell. To expel mice from haystacks, hay was interbedded with branches and poisonous elderberry leaves.
The flowers and fruits of black elderberry are exported to other countries.
Collection of raw materials.
The flowers are harvested from the beginning of flowering to the beginning of shedding corollas. Harvesting should be done in dry weather, especially when the sun is shining. When harvesting, the whole inflorescences are cut off and sent for drying as soon as possible. Dry in attics or under sheds with good ventilation, laying them out in one layer on paper or fabric. Dried inflorescences are threshed and the flowers are separated from the peduncles not used in medicine. The bark is harvested in May - June, when it is easily separated from the wood. Dry in the open air and in attics.
The fruits should only be harvested when they are fully ripe.
See how black elderberry looks and grows - in the video, the shrub is shown in conditions wildlife and in the backyard:
(Sambucus racemosa)
Elderberry is known to everyone since childhood. The plant is widespread in Russia, and most often it can be found in ravines or on the edge of the forest. AT decorative purposes has long been used in gardens and parks, to secure the banks. Honey plant, flowers and fruits are used in folk medicine. Grows fast. Not demanding on lighting conditions. Winter-hardy. Grows on any soil, even clay. Handles haircut well. Used in single and group landings, in shrub compositions. grows well on the banks of water bodies.
(Sambucus racemosa Plumosa Aurea)
Elderberry red Plumosa Aureya is a large deciduous shrub with carved golden foliage and bright ruby \u200b\u200bfruits collected in a brush. Possesses high speed growth. It is not demanding on soils. Feels best in light partial shade. Leaves turn green in full shade. Moisture-loving. Winter-hardy. tolerates a haircut. It is used in single and group plantings, in shrub compositions.
(Sambucus racemosa Sutherland Gold)
Elder red Sutherland Gold is an ornamental fast-growing shrub with a dense golden crown. Prefers sun or light partial shade, in deep shade the leaves lose their golden color and turn green. winter hardy, but harsh winters annual shoots can freeze, then quickly recovers. Handles a haircut very well. Stable in urban environments. Recommended for creating color compositions, contrasting groups. Beautiful in the form of a tapeworm.
(Sambucus nigra)
Black elderberry is a deciduous tree or shrub. The plant is unpretentious, does not require special care, with dense openwork foliage. It grows along the edges of broad-leaved forests, among shrubs, along roads, near housing. It has long been used in folk and official medicine. The growth rate is fast. Light-loving and moisture-loving. Frost-resistant. handles pruning well. It is used in single and group plantings, as well as in composition with other trees and shrubs.
(Sambucus nigra Black Beauty)
Elder black Black Beauty is a large erect shrub, very decorative due to dark lacy leaves and pink graceful inflorescences. Prefers sunny place planting, but also tolerates light shading. Not picky about growing conditions. Handles haircut well. Winter-hardy. Suitable for urban and home gardening, creating color compositions.
(Sambucus nigra Blacklace)
Elder black Black Lake is unusually decorative due to openwork lacy leaves and pink graceful inflorescences. Prefers moist soils. Sun-loving. Young branches may partially freeze, but quickly recover in the spring. Looks great in single and group plantings. Excellent garden dweller high humidity soil.