When should you plant your elder tree? What do you have to consider when growing elderberries in pots? Everything you need to know about planting elderberries can be found here.
The elder is a robust and undemanding tree that you can plant in your garden or in a pot on the balcony. Perhaps you have already asked yourself the question: is the elder a shrub or a tree? In nature, the elder usually grows as a shrub with a basitone growth habit. This means that the elder does not have a single stem as the dominant main axis, but constantly sprout new stems from buds close to the ground. With a targeted pruning, however, young elderberry plants can easily be brought into the classic growth form of a tree with trunk and crown. As a standard, the elder is more space-saving and therefore well suited for the balcony. Elderberry is also cultivated in this way in commercial fruit growing.
In this article you will find out how to plant the elderberry correctly and in which locations it feels comfortable. You can read more about the elder - for example about planting, caring for and propagating as well as different types and varieties of elder - in our article about elder.
Planting elderberry: the right time
It is best to plant the elder bush or elder tree in autumn (September/October) or at the beginning of spring (March/April). At these times the plant has ideal conditions to grow well and develop optimally.
Tip: By cutting back the sprouts that have already formed before planting the elderberry, you prevent the plant from losing too much water through its leaves.
The perfect location for elderberry bushes
Elder plants are very undemanding and do well in a sunny location as well as in partial shade. In terms of soil type, the elder does not have high demands and thrives on almost any soil. However, it does particularly well on well-drained, moist and slightly calcareous soil with a high humus content.
Elder treeplant in the garden
In a convenient spot in your garden, dig a hole about twice the size of the root ball. Enrich the loosened soil in the planting hole with compost, horn shavings or another fertilizer such as our primarily organic Plantura organic universal fertilizer. In this way you provide the elder with optimal nutrients right from the start so that it can grow well. Place the root ball in the planting hole, fill it up with substrate and press down well. After you have planted the elder, you should water it generously. If you want to plant several elderberry bushes at once, for example when creating an elderberry hedge, you should not fall below a distance of 1.5 to 2 meters.
Growing elderberry in a pot
If you want to grow elderberries in pots, smaller varieties such as the yellow-leaved black elder variety ′Golden Tower′ (Sambucus nigra) are particularly suitable. It reaches a height of 1.5 to 2.5 meters. Even in the form of a standard, the elder is well suited as a potted plant for the balcony, as it requires less space than in the form of a shrub. Peat-free garden soil such as our Plantura organic universal soil is suitable as a substrate.
With the right care and the right pruning, the elder plants develop more beautifully from year to year and bear creamy-white flowers in June and juicy fruit from September. This makes the elder a valuable source of food for insects and birds.
If you want to learn more about harvesting and the many uses of elderflowers and berries, you can find helpful tips and suggestions in our article on harvesting and using elderberries.