The farmer I got them from River Hills in MO said soak in water 24 hours plant in potting soil. Then plant out after danger of frost passes.

Same here; Brent and Valerie said just soaking them would be find. Also, Brent said let them grow the first year, the second year. Then in the dead of winter before they start their third year, cut them flush to the ground. He said, not close to, but FLUSH. He kind of made an ironic grin and said, most folks don't want to. Just DO it. OKAY! By gosh I will! LOL

Eeeeks you will have to come do that for me okay!

LOL, okay, but not until the winter of 2019! LOL

I'll put it in the calendar

LOL

I sent Brent an email (because I'm ridiculous) and he responded. The place I would like to plant them is a bit "clay", so he said to put them in potting soil to get started and then plant in the ground in 45 days or so. Add a bit of compost and let them grow, like you said, Nancy.

If you don't mind me asking, why grow elderberries? Do they taste good? I've read that they have medicinal qualities....I wonder how they take to shade?

Jacob, they are medicinal and people use them as food although they are not a sweet berry. Elderberry syrup is very popular. (If you have time to watch the above video, it will explain a lot.) It was hard to find the dried berries here--around me locally--because of all the flu this year. (although you could find them online.) From what I understand, some varieties do okay in the shade, but most like the sun. I'm still trying to figure it out. lol

Jacob, they'll do good in some shade. Mine will get dappled shade in the morning and full sun for about 2-3 hours in the afternoon. We'll see.

Skip the soaking, it is of no benefit.

We’ll see how bar ditch elderberries like being ‘tamed’.

Bruce, Yours are looking really good.

Your bar ditch must be better than mine.

My bar ditch mostly grows brushy bluestem, Canadian thistles and Johnson grass, none of which I particularly want to propagate.

Dawn

These came from a bar ditch about 25 miles from my place. Mine grows nice things like red cedar, bermuda, gophers and sand burrs! Oh, and occasionally, paper sacks, and beer cans. Our ditches are probably related, but from a different branch of the family tree!

LOL @ bruce and dawn.

I just took another 60+ cuttings from two different locations. I'll get them nested in over the next few days.

If a decent percentage of them survive, I could start a small farm!

Haha--what happened? Did you get another 20 requests? You COULD start a small farm. . . who knows where this might lead! LOL

Do yall think mine will do okay in molasses tubs until I can plant in ground in 2 years or more?

I know that it is done, so I imagine you can do it for two years. Key points: fill your containers with a good soil-less mix to which you've added extra organic matter. Elderberries need lots of organic matter in their soil. Don't let them get dry. If you watch how they grow in the wild, they thrive in places (like bar ditches and washes/gullies) that periodically have tons of water in them. They like and need that moisture. They don't like being dry. You might need to keep them pruned to 3' to 4' or maybe 5' in height after they become established. This is so your containerized plant doesn't produce more topgrowth than the confined roots can support inside the container. Some elderberry plants can get 8' to 10' or even 12' tall, but I wouldn't let one in a container get that tall. Don't forget to feed the containerized elderberry periodically. In the wild, they can send their roots out searching for nutrients. In a container, they cannot do that. You might want to set your tubs up on top of concrete blocks or something so the plants won't send roots down through the drainage holes into the soil beneath. (I've had fig trees in containers do this---and while it doesn't sound too bad, if the roots are big enough, they block the drainage holes and the lack of drainage becomes an issue in heavy rainfall. Also, if you can site them where they get less than full sun, that's ideal. They often are found in dappled shade or morning sun/afternoon shade in the wild. In Texas, about the only places I ever saw elderberries were in creek beds or drainage ditches in partial shade. You knew what they were because nothing else that looked like them while in bloom was blooming at that time of the year.

Yes, Nancy, I've had a bunch of people asking about getting cuttings, so I doubt I have any problem getting rid of the excess!

So far I have cuttings from at least 4 locations. I'll plant 2 or 3 from each for myself, once I decide on exactly where I want them. One spot that I think will work great is where I had several truck loads of wood chips dumped a few years back. They rotted down nicely and I mined as much as I could before ragweed moved in.

My mother expressed interest in several, so I'll help get those going on their new property.

When it gets closer to SF, and the request thread starts, I'll see who all wants some and will probably bring those and several extras.

A lady from somewhere over in Cherokee county messaged me and is wanting to plant about 4 acres in elderberry for a cash crop. They were looking at grapes, but decided the $7K investment and 4 year wait wouldn't work out, so they started looking at alternatives. They have been taking cuttings from the native plants and was looking for someone with growing experience. I explained, I'm just playing around with these and trying to learn as I go, so I recommended a visit to 360 farms.

At some point we may exchange cuttings or plants to increase diversity to both of our efforts.

Another lady ask about growing in containers. I won't be passing on your advice, Dawn, with her because she's one that has red clay and I've been encouraging her to build it up rather than buying and importing soil. Knowing she has the place to do it, I recommended keeping them in a decent sized pot and then transplanting them in a year or so.

One small CSA farm over around Seminole is very interested and I'll be helping him with what little I know. His onion growing technique has peaked my interest and I want to see it in person.

Dale added me to a FB group of small farm operators a while back and I love what they are doing! The way they all work together, network and share is amazing.