I cut back in winter but not to the ground. I found some varieties did great being cut to just one node (about 1’) and some didn’t fruit well and seemed to only fruit on the few canes I left with 3 nodes. So I cut closer and some I counted and left 3 which was about 3’. I have no space and my elderberries are densely planted 4-6’ apart on narrow sides of my house. 4 established and 8 that are now 3-5’ tall from cuttings planted last winter. Pruning is imperative since they get massive. The newer ones will get gentle pruning jan 27. I also prune in summer because my husband gets super upset trying to ninja weave through them to walk. I can’t tell you which varieties do what because I’m positive I have at least two mislabeled bc the wrong partners bloom together, and the labels for my Bob Gordons and ranches planted last year got ripped off in the mail and I can’t for the life of me find anyway to ID what I have. If you want to do hacking pruning, at worst you’ll have light fruiting for a year as you figure out if it’s a varieties that needs to be left taller or not. You certainly aren’t going to hurt it.
It’s either Bob Gordon or Wyldewood that the flower heads droop significantly when the fruit is ripe. I think Ranch is supposed to be more dwarf?
New to elders. All of you cut them down to the ground. Is that just to control size or are there other purposes? What happens if I just let them run wild?
american elders can fruit on first year wood while european fruit on second year wood. You can cut an american bush to the ground in late winter every year but if you try that with a european elderberry you’ll get a beautiful bush with no fruit. European bushes do well when pruned to just the 4-6 strongest canes every year. (I have only grown “marge” so there might be varieties that are best pruned differently)
You can let it run wild and it becomes a very healthy tree. It takes longer to pick the flower clusters because they are more numerous, smaller and harder to reach
So if I let them run wild for a few years could I come in cut low and harvest all at the same time?
ah this is the info i was looking for!! so it should be fine as long as its mature enough and its roots are able to handle it
You typically cut them to the ground during the Winter. The cymes of ripening berries may not all be ripened at the same time. If you cut them to the ground to harvest…I’m not sure you’d have a harvest at all the next year.