My guess is that it has more to do with the actual spot that specimen is planted in. I wouldn’t be surprised if thermal imaging were used and showed a warmer spot where it is growing.
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I suppose I ought to root some cuttings to put in other locations to test this!
I do suspect this area is a bit protected from cold snaps, as there was less frost than other parts of the garden, but I have another elderberry planted very close, and my two others were also in this area before I transplanted them elsewhere, and the “mystery elder” was the only one to grow new leaves so early every year, so I think it’s not the main factor. It probably helps those early leaves to grow successfully and not get killed off by late frosts, though!
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So do you call it a mystery elderberry because you lost track of which variety it is, or was it a volunteer seedling that you did not plant?
Ah, it’s a mystery elderberry because it was sold to me as part of a discounted assortment of edible plants that had lost their variety tags but were otherwise in very good condition. At the time, the nursery sold both named American and European elderberries, as well as seedling elderberries; unfortunately I didn’t think to note down what varieties they were selling specifically or what species the seedlings were, and they stock different & fewer elderberries varieties now.
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Well if it’s a named variety, it might be too difficult to identify the clone with complete certainty, but in time it’ll probably be easier to identify which species it is.
I’ve just learned about goodbarn and am pretty interested. A quick google search isn’t yielding anyone selling cuttings. Where did you find it? I would love to get a cutting or two next January.
Also, you had a note about deer earlier on. I’m in a small residential lot, and not a ton of deer, but they decimated my pumpkin patch (front yard) last fall and never touched an elderberry. Were they eating the leaves and the canes?
They’re one of few things I can grow without being mauled to death without a cage.
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That’s interesting. I’ll add that to my back-of-mind gardening fears!
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Jesse in Maine has them i think. He has a small nursery so i would give him the ask first.
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That’s funny cause here, my black elderberries (both American and European) get heavily browsed by deer unless planted away from the primary deer route.
They destroy everything here. They don’t care about thorns(blackberries), poison(rhubarb), or anything else. They want it all.
I have American ones along the rear fence perpendicular to their usual trail that got to 9’ mostly/entirely untouched. An apple tree further off in the corner would be completely defoliated of all new growth every time it had some. There’s some European ones (Black Lace, Black Tower, Hashberg, Allesso) that run right along the side of it that they’ve left alone so far this year. Figs, black currants, herbs, and alliums are the only other things they haven’t touched.
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Deer work in mysterious ways. On my property, I have some 100+ year old possible caprifigs that lay all over in deer browsing height that they never touch. Meanwhile, all of my small, good fig varieties that I’ve been planting not far from there get devastated if I leave them unprotected for an instant.
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