Elderberry in the South East?

General Fruit Growing
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Anybody growing Elderberry in the South East US?

The wild bushes grow well and I have trouble killing them in my Blackberry field
I’m trying to determine which of the named varieties will do well in my climate.

I see lots of good research from Vermont and the mid-west but can’t find anything for my climate

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i would think any of them would. they’re pretty tough plants. nothing bothers them. wylewood and bob gordon were developed in OK so i think they would be good in your climate. both are heavy producers and cross pollinate each other.

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I’m interested in this too. I see wild ones around, mostly in ditches but the birds always get the fruit before I notice they’re ripe. A few years back I planted a Nova/York pair at the same time I planted some thornless blackberries. I gave them all the same (minimal) care and the blackberries did fine but both elderberries died. I think next time I’ll try Bob Gordon and Wyldewood in a wetter site. I am concerned SWD might be a problem though so I’ve been concentrating on other things while I ponder that conundrum.

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I have a couple of wild varieties that do well and produce nice clusters of berries. One of the wild one produces berries very tightly packed together and they are usually riddled with bugs.

More to your question though I have planted about a dozen each of adams, ranch, wyldewood, bob gordon, and john’s. Of these adams has far and away out performed the others in yearly growth, number of plants still alive, producing berries sooner after planting, sucker production, etc. Sucker production I guess is generally frowned upon but for elderberries I think it is a good thing but maybe that’s just me.

I also have one nova plant that has grown well but that is only one plant so take that for what it’s worth.

Middle Tennessee about 40 miles south of Nashville. Zone 7.

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Good information. Thanks for sharing. Do you water your plants on a regular basis?

I read somewhere that Elderberries require up to 2 inches of water per week during their fruiting period. I had not planned on irrigation, but I probably need to plan on adding water to my plan

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i don’t water mine but we usually get good rainfall. but even with this seasons drought, my elders are producing well. unfortunately with little wild berries out there for the birds, they ate about half my crop when they usually ignore them.

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After plants leave the nursery close to my house nothing receives irrigation outside of rainfall.

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