I found out recently that elderberry bushes can be propigated from cuttings--tame or wild. How To Propagate Elderberry From Cuttings (ruralsprout.com) Here is one site, there are others. I have some wild elderberry bushes, but they are not close to my house and the wild things get them before I do. I want to put these closer to my house and have some for me. I cut some for my friend too.
We either eat battered fried elderberry flowers or we dry them and use them for a cake spice, a bit like vanilla.
Good luck with propagation! I've managed to get two out of eleven cuttings to root, and that's an accomplishment for me since I had no idea what I was doing, lol. Wish you lived around here. Our three elderberry trees self-sow everywhere. We also have one with yellow leaf margins, very decorative between all the green bushes and trees we've got. That's the one I managed to get rooted cuttings from. I never get to eat the flowers or make elderberry soft drinks because my husband makes elderberry wine. What he can't reach the migratory birds eat on their way south. I have overheard him and the birds discussing who's berries they are. Very amusing. We love the elderberry. It's good for both insects and birds, it has a nice scent, and it's decorative too.
The deer and birds get the berries from my wild bushes. I have a tame one that I bought but they are expensive at various nurseries. I thought propigating them might help get some more. I figured out where to put them when they have roots. Hopefully, there is enough rooted ones for myself and my friend.
Which has the most health benefits, the flowers for tea or the berries? And both need to be cooked before consuming, I'm guessing either the boiling water for the tea or the process of cooking for the jelly or pie, correct? Is there more cooking that needs to be done in the process than that?
I don't know about cooking them yet. However, the TAME elderberry says you can eat those berries raw, which I hope to try. That one is supposed to grow to 8 feet tall. I got the tame one from www.burntridgenursery.com WILD elderberries are not to be eaten raw. I have a friend who makes juice and syrup from elderberries. I want to ask her for recipes. They are very good for your immune system and if you get sick.
My cuttings are showing white bumps on them, which I hope is the beginning of roots. I have some rooted willow cuttings in with them. I have heard that they make rooting hormone from willow trees? I had to prune some suckers off of my pear tree, so I am trying to see if they will root too. We have had so much rain lately, that the buckets are overflowing so whatever willow water I added is gone I am sure. Most of the cuttings are hanging on. I shared a few with a friend, and she scarred one of her cuttings and wrapped in moss and a plastic bag. She said that one is growing new growth, so she will do that with the others. I may try that with the ones I have left. I have a lot of moss around here.
