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applestar
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Elderberries and Elderflowers

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JONA
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We've got a good year over this side of the pond for elders this year.
Loads of blossom around and it makes a superb cordial.
Promise of plenty of fruit later in the summer for making a great home made wine.

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applestar
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Sounds good! Do you have a recipe for the cordial?

I harvested another batch of blossoms today :D

Today's batch of elder flowers -- including another giant umbel that wouldn't fit in the 2 gal gathering bucket. I think today's was a little bit less than the first one :D
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...I processed the first batch into syrup. It made five 8 oz canning jars and a little bit more, so I put the extra in a blender with a little over a cup of ice and made a simple slushie (just a little bit of sea salt for extra depth of flavor). DH, DD1 and I shared this -- surprisingly DD didn't like it as much without the raspberries, but DH absolutely loved it and asked for more... A little more.... :lol:

dogwalker17
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illinois has a lot of elderberry bushes growing along country roads. so I pulled over and clipped a couple stems. I put them in a jug filled with water. will this root?

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applestar
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I didn't answer because I didn't know -- did it root?

I'm thinking it would be better to find new shoots growing from the ground -- they spread around the mother plant and form a sort of a thicket. Pulled up with some roots, they are hardy and will transplant easily. I'm currently WEEDING OUT the extras that threatens to overtake areas I don't want them to grow.

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applestar
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This is the one growing at the beginning of the Spiral Garden so all surround shoots are pulled and only the main plant is allowed to grow. I have to yank and cut off thick 1/2 inch to 1" roots that radiate out from the base and start to run ...sometimes feet of them.
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-- I'm in a race with catbirds to harvest the ripest black ones. I'm "bagging" the ripest cluster with a tight mesh onion bag, but I only have one of these bags.... ;-|

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applestar
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I didn't think I was going to make any elderflower syrup this year since I had a gallon zip bag of frozen blossoms in the freezer that I made syrup from earlier in spring, and the big shrub in the back yard was winterkilled (Or reached its lifespan) and the brand new 3-4 ft growths from the base didn't look like they will bloom this year.

But then the one in the Front Yard Fence Row was doing this. So I harvested a 2 gal bucketful, which when trimmed, filled my big mesh colander, and I made some concentrated syrup. As you can see, you can dilute with water (or other beverages) to make a nice refreshing drink.

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Younger DD loves this -- she always had some at IKEA and we bought their bottled syrup, too. But home-made with freshly harvested elderflowers from our own garden and made with organic lemon and organic cane sugar is much much better. :wink:

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Gary350
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dogwalker17 wrote:illinois has a lot of elderberry bushes growing along country roads. so I pulled over and clipped a couple stems. I put them in a jug filled with water. will this root?
Elderberry plants like full sun that is why you see them on fence rows. Elderberries are ripe here in TN 3rd week of July to 2nd week of August I harvested 7 gallons one year to make 5 gallons of wine. I planted all the seeds along my garden fence row but none grew. A friend said he had the same problem all the seeds he plants never grow either and transplants die. My friend said, birds eat Elderberries then land on a fence and take a dump then plants grow. He decides seeds inside the stomach kept warm much be what incubates the seeds so they will grow, he ate a bunch of elderberries then pooped in his garden for a week and the seeds grew. He has a bunch of plants in one area of his garden in full sun that make berries every year. I took a 30 mile drive on country roads Saturday and found no Elderberry plants.

gumbo2176
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Elderberries are all over the place where I live. Matter of fact, my sister-in-law has at least 100 ft. of fence around her property that has huge branches of elderberry trees draping over them. My wife and I were just over at her house last weekend the her yard is lousy with flowers right now.

I may need to look into making syrup and cordials with some of those flowers. My grandmother use to make gallons of elderberry wine every year when I was a kid. I now wish I'd have paid better attention to her process.

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applestar
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Remove the thickest stems to avoid astringent flavor. According to a friend in Europe, key to preserving the delicate fragrance of the flowers is NOT to boil the flowers. Soak overnight with lemon slices, submerged in cold water with a plate. Then in the morning squeeze out the blossoms and lemons with your hands, then strain. Add sugar and boil 10 minutes. (I can look up the specific amount if you need it.)

I just found a basic sweetened berry liqueur recipe with sugar and vodka or rum. 1 cup sugar, in 1 quart jar, almost fill with berries add liquor to completely cover, tightly seal and shake every week for 8-10 weeks. I'm making some with blackberries and might try this with elderberries, too, though it might be better to make a more of a heavy/cough syrup.... hm.

2totango
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made some lovely elderflower cordial (syrup) this year as well! have tried several times over the years to make wine with the berries, but it's just too high in tannins and it turns the stomach (although smells wonderful!). If anyone has a recipe or tips to share my ears are open!

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applestar
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Small harvest of elderflower umbels yesterday — but It was enough to measure 350 ml after de-stemming and packing lightly in a measuring cup. I made a small batch — about 1 liter of the concentrated cordial. Rather than bothering to hot water bath seal in jars, I’m keeping in the refrigerator to be mixed with soda water or spring water for refreshing drink. :D Hmm...this would be good mixed with Champagne, too... maybe I should go get some. 8)

Here are some photos of yesterday’s harvest, views of the main elderflower source this year in the Front Yard Edible Fence Row, and today’s even smaller harvest — Most of the open blossoms are way up near the top and I can[t reach ...but they should bow down sufficiently when loaded with berries.... :wink:

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ETA — jut realized I got the dates wrong in the photos... oh well. :>

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rainbowgardener
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I have elderberry that was planted as a baby last year. Now it is almost 6 feet tall and bushy, with lots of new stems. But no blossoms yet. Will it likely bloom this year? How tall does it usually get and would it be okay to prune it to keep it shorter or will that keep it from blooming.

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applestar
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In my photos above, the fenceposts are 6 ft. That one is in full sun. Out by the back fence where it’s shaded understory, they can get even taller.

I’ve never tried to prune mine so I don’t know, and mine ...and I imagine yours... are native American elderberry. But the lady from Europe (who gave me the cordial recipe) prunes her European elderberry into ...I believe a single trunk... umbrella-like Tree form. This works for her because hers doesn’t die off or winter-kill.

With mine, the trunk has always only lived for 3 years or so then doesn’t come back after the winter. But new thick stems or side-shoots grow from lower down in the trunk to replace the upper trunk and branches that died. When the trunk has completely died and no more new shoots grow, new root sucker will take its place, so you have to be prepared to let the shrub “roam” a bit and not expect it to stay exactly where you planted it.

I’m not sure if yours will bloom this year. It seems like it should have bloomed for you since you are further south?

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rainbowgardener
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Mine gets pretty much full sun in the south east corner of the backyard. I don't want it tree form, being a colony is fine, I just don't want it to get 20 feet tall and shade things and be difficult to reach the flowers/ berries.

I will just have to see what happens. If it starts getting too tall, I will chop it off and see what happens then.... :shock:

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applestar
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In addition to their culinary (and medicinal*) uses, not to mention beneficial insect’s love them — they are really impressive in flower —

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*
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingre ... lderflower
Overview Information
Elderflower is the flower of a tree. An extract of the flower is used to make medicine.

Elderflower is used for swollen sinuses (sinusitis), colds, influenza (flu), swine flu, bronchitis, diabetes, and constipation. It is also used to increase urine production (as a diuretic), to increase sweating (as a diaphoretic), and to stop bleeding.
https://www.livestrong.com/article/4584 ... -benefits/
Elderflower Cordial Benefits
herbalists value elderflowers as much as they value elderberries, and when the shrub is in full bloom, they gather the delicate blossoms to make herbal remedies and culinary delights. Elderflower cordial is a sweetened extraction of elderflowers and available in health food stores and gourmet grocers. In addition to its distinct flavor, elderflower cordial is valued for its potential health benefits.
https://www.greenlifestylemarket.com/bl ... lower-tea/
The Health Benefits of Elderflower Tea
Elderflower tea is a soothing and healing beverage that contains strong anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Elderflowers are rich in vitamins A, C, and B-complex as well as numerous phytochemicals and antioxidant compounds. Elderflower tea is a powerful immune booster and is particularly helpful with respiratory ailments such as bronchitis, sinusitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, asthma, chronic cough, sore throat, cold, flu, and fever.

Elderflower is a natural decongestant and helps to clear up mucus and congestion in the lungs, sinus, and nasal passages.

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sheeshshe
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I planted some last year and they're not growing. I'm wondering what I am doing wrong? They're about a foot tall and there is just one shoot coming out of the ground. I put some fruit fertilizer a couple of weeks ago in hopes that it would help, but nothing. Any idea why they don't want to grow?

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rainbowgardener
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elderberry likes a lot of sun and moist but well drained conditions. And it likes acid, but not extremely acid soil. What is the pH of your soil and water like these days?

Each plant has its own set of conditions it likes with sun, moisture, soil type, pH, etc. The closer you can get to giving it all the conditions it likes, the more it thrives.

When a plant is just sitting there, not growing, but not dying, I often think it is a problem with the root system. Has it been waterlogged where your elderberry is?

JONA
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Just a general query from this side of the pond.
Do you have elders growing wild over there?
In the UK it’s a plant that is quite common in the wild ...growing in hedgerows and waste land. So there’s never any problem getting flowers and fruit.

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sheeshshe
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Jona, we don't have any wild ones, but my neighbor is growing some and his are so big and so tall that he is going to need a ladder to harvest them this year!

Rainbow, we have wild blueberries so I'm sure it is quite acid. It is well drained soil as under the topsoil is nothing but sand. The area I put them in has wild raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and wild bristly sarsaparilla. I took a shoot from a friends elderberry last year. 2 types. It's weird because all the wild berries are growing great and also the raspberries I planted aren't doing well either, yet the wild ones right next to them are.

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applestar
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Time to harvest elderflowers again :D

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