It's an elderberry, Sambucus canadensis. Your's looks a little small for flowers yet. There's a good chance it will bloom next year since it's in full sun. I had the same issue and was expecting flowers before mine were mature enough. Be patient, the odds are good it will bloom and set fruit next year.

That's great news :-) Since it grew wild in my yard, I'm guessing that there are more nearby and that a bird planted this one for me, but that would imply the same cultivar.

I have a rather lengthy tree border, and this might work well to fill in and create a wildlife-friendly hedge in front of those trees! Easy to propagate and they obviously grow well in this area, all I'd really need to do is buy a couple of other cultivars and then I should have a nice hedge in 3-4 years for very little cost!

I just searched and found a "John & Adams" for $70, which is two cultivars shipped together for pollination. So shoot, it looks like all I need is $70, jars and water, and a few years :-D

Since it is a self sown seedling it won’t be any cultivar. It’ll be the straight species or an unnamed random cross. If your source for the John and Adams plants is Fast Growing Trees, I’ve noticed people here generally don’t rate the company.

I looked up John's and Adam's elderberries and I can't find any mention of them being special cultivars. I'm wondering if they are just presented as such to make more money for the vendors? As common as they are and as fast as they grow, if they are just straight species than $35 seems rather expensive. Prairie Moon Nursery sells barefoot Sambucus canadensis for $9.00. I've bought several bareroot plants from them and have always recieved healthy plants.

Stark sells both Johns and Adams as named cultivars.

Definitely looks like an elder.

FWIW, the elder I have growing spreads by suckering. Yours might do so too, and save you some money.

If your source for the John and Adams plants is Fast Growing Trees, I’ve noticed people here generally don’t rate the company.

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK, it is FGT :-)

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/john-adams-elderberry-shrub-pair

I've ordered from them twice this year (both times were for trees), and both times everything was great; fast delivery, packed well so everything looked good on delivery, and they're still doing well.

I haven't had a Winter with them yet, of course, but I bought a 1 year warranty for everything so if it dies then it's not a tragedy.

I bought (4) Major Wheelers from another nursery and two of them have already died. Those are my only experiences with ordering plants online, so I have no complaints with FGT so far.

FWIW, the elder I have growing spreads by suckering. Yours might do so too, and save you some money.

@carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10, that would be pretty awesome :-) I read that you can root cuttings in water, so I figured that I would trim off ten 4" cuttings next year and root them in water, then by 2025 I'd have 11 good shrubs :-)

Unless you all think I could take cuttings from that 8' long limb this year? I read that it's best to not prune it until it's 2 or 3 years old, but this was a transplant that I'd been mowing over for God-only-knows how long. And since the second limb is only about 3-4' tall, the 8' monster could stand to be trimmed down a tad.

Or would it be better to wait for suckers instead of taking cuttings at all?

For Elder take hardwood cuttings when the plant is dormant. So, don’t use the long green shoot, at least not until it has hardened off. S nigra doesn’t sucker. S canadensis does..

I grow John and Adam. They’re very good. One keeps traveling and the other is content to stay as a small shrub, but I don’t remember which is which.