Prune and Propagate Elderberry - Bob Gordon Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis

[@heppylifestyle]

Elderberry syrup, Elderflower, Elderflower liqueur, Elderberry vine and other food products come from this FAST growing SUPER hardy plant! Prune & propagate to sell or give-away the plant! Our established plants need no water, have HUGE heads of flowers, and are pest / disease free! Elderberry is about the easiest plant to grow!

[@kckola4553]

You're a good man Heppy. No BS and all good material without any fluff. Appreciate you, and hope I can sleep with all the elderberry running round my head.

[@heppylifestyle]

@@kckola4553 that comment made my day ... heck, it made my week. Much appreciated 👩‍🌾🐞

[@tammywhite9229]

I wasn’t very smart and planted my elderberry at the edge of my garden. I’m glad to hear that trimming it can keep it under control. This year it grew out over my rhubarb, herbs and other stuff.

[@heppylifestyle]

@tammywhite9229 i put the monster in the middle of the garden :/. i'm like, now what?!?! i still haven't contain it. yes, if an Elderberry is pre-disposed to spread, it's going to spread real good. The Johns has stayed localized; Bob Gordon is ... a lil' monster :) sorry to hear about the rhubarb, herbs and other stuff. you're not alone -- do what you can. thanks for stopping by....

[@kckola4553]

I'm giving up all my garden space for Mr. Elderberry

[@heppylifestyle]

@@kckola4553 they go ballistic in high organic soil! Have fun! 🐞

[@tracycouture3955]

Thank you so much for this information, new subscriber Blessings from B.C 🇨🇦

[@heppylifestyle]

i LOVE BC; I spent time on Vancouver Island; thanks you for subscribing!!! totally appreciate it. be good Tracy!

[@berchtas-botanicals]

Not the same variety, but the property I recently bought has around 4 very healthy and 5 not so healthy elderberries. I'll definitely save this video for next spring when I go prune them.

[@heppylifestyle]

@@berchtas-botanicals congratulations on getting the land. And thank you for the feedback 👩‍🌾🐞

[@royboggs3849]

Extremely helpful for me (new grower)! TU, man. Roy (in KY, 68 yrs)

[@heppylifestyle]

glad the vid helped Roy! thanks for stopping by. KY is a beautiful state -- enjoy Spring & keep plantin'!

[@r.d.9650]

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing this video!🙂

[@heppylifestyle]

well thank you for the feedback RD! much appreciated! 🌻

[@TruthAndLight4995]

Thanks! Good info. I bought a plant at Costco last year and had NO IDEA that it would explode with all the sucker canes!! I will prune in the winter for sure. I’m kinda sorry now about where I placed it in my garden.

[@heppylifestyle]

@TruthAndLight4995 I'm REALLY sorry for placing the Bob Gordon in the middle of my garden. It belongs on the periphery 😕🥺🐞

[@melissaharland5609]

Love da circle, I do the same with any plant, it works great.

[@heppylifestyle]

thank you Melissa! sounds like you're a seasoned & inquisitive gardener -- glad to have ya!

[@TimberwolfOutdoorLife]

Thanks for the great video. I do have plans to try my hand at Elderberry, perhaps in a year or so.

[@heppylifestyle]

well thank you! if your around washington dc, pick-up a Johns & Bob Gordon from us (free, of course)! they explode in growth in organic soil; sunny location for max production but Elderberry tolerate about any condition. that's my $0.02. good luck with the Elder's Timberwolf & thanks for stopping by!

[@iamthewelcher]

I just love how you cuss man! Just being Real with the people! Lol

[@heppylifestyle]

;) 🤓

[@tasmanianherbals9706]

fantastic! so helpful What kind of wood do you use for the woodchips?

[@heppylifestyle]

thank you Tasmanian Herbals! and great question. short answer: i use whatever the local tree trimming folk bring me. for Elderberry propagation, it seems like any NOT fresh woodchips will do. i do distinguish pine/conifer woodchips from non-pine for acid loving plants (blueberry, green tea plant). pine/conifer woodchips are used for acid loving plants. thanks for stopping by & plz subscribe and be good!, pete moss

[@patrickschmidt4639]

so wholesome

[@heppylifestyle]

thank you Patrick. thanks for stopping by!

[@melissaharland5609]

Thank you for sharing ✌️

[@heppylifestyle]

🤓✌

[@ExLibMachina]

Hi. Thanks for the video. I have this elderberry as well. Could you do a vid about how you collect the berries, and if you boil, and for how long? My other question is about wood chips. Do you make your own, and if so, can you make a chipper recommendation? Thank you!

[@heppylifestyle]

hi Beth. thanks for stopping by! we'll film us processing Elderberries ... eventually :/ but in the meantime, i'd point you to the Midwest Elderberry Cooperative's page for recipes: www.midwest-elderberry.coop/recipes/chef-klaus-mitterhausers.html chipper? + in practice: we get woodchips for free; i track-down tree trimmers in our community and ask 'em to dump woodchips on our property. that works great in our community. + this may help: getchipdrop.com/ + MTD 10HP chipper off Craigslist (model 24A - 464G129). it was a risky move on my part (private sale on CL) BUT what a monster, and it worked great. in summary, i think these devices are about "HP" (horsepower). they advertise number of 'hammers" but it's the HP that pulverizes branches. i don't bother chipping thick limbs/branches (2.5"+) -- it's the light branches that pile up. take care Beth,

[@kristingoettlicher3503]

Which do you like better, elderberry or aronia?

[@heppylifestyle]

great question! Aronia in just about EVERY way ;) Aronia is far better for human health; fruit is easier to pick & process; and some Elderberry sucker like crazy. BUT, in terms of seeing a giant head of flowers, the Elderberry wins ;) Aronia is maybe the most nutritional fruiting plant I found. heppy.org/chokeberry#Aronia_berry_Benefits thx for stopping by and plz sub!

[@kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699]

Nice!

[@heppylifestyle]

double hearts! i'm honored Kristen!!! i'll catch up to ya at Sueño de Vida. gracias amiga! 🌴

[@ck-4203]

Does pruning work out if done this late? My understanding is that the plant should be dormant.

[@heppylifestyle]

Yes, pruning when dormant is optimal -- you nailed it. Elderberry is such a vigorous plant that I can be pruned at other times. Right now (may - June) it's flowering. I have to do a MAJOR prune on the Bob Gordon and I'll slam it as soon as it's done fruiting. She'll do just fine. But yes, it's best to prune when dormant 🐞

[@NBPostman]

What do you do with wood, can you put them in the compost pile or will they just root. Can you run them through a chipper and use as wood chip mulch?

[@heppylifestyle]

hi John -- thanks for stopping by. yes, they won't grow if run through a chipper, and they don't grow when i place cuttings on the top of a compost pile over loose weedy debris. one compost pile is loose & airy & far off soil so plant debris dries & dies. cuttings on/around anything close to soil WILL likely elicit rooting. as you know, time-of-yr is a factor - super cold or super hot weather causes the wood to die quickly. please subscribe and have fun getting ready for spring!, pete moss

[@NBPostman]

I want to clean up an area, cutting down some wild elderberries..If I cut back elderberries now when the snow is on the ground they will cause the wood to die

[@heppylifestyle]

​@@NBPostman Hi john - i have no personal experience do that; however, my intuition is that prolonged cold weather will kill Elderberry cuttings. it's a soft wood. good luck and let me know how it goes.

[@susankingblalock]

Do you sell your cuttings?

[@heppylifestyle]

Hi Susan, i'm not selling as a practice but certainly could. i'd sell rooted Elderberry -- it would literally be dug out of the soil, with the above-ground portion trimmed. shipped by US postal service. contact me by [e-mail], let me know how much you want or how much you'd like to spend, and i'll get it done. Bob Gordon or Johns or both? hope all that made sense. thanks, and thank you for stopping by. plz subscribe!, pete moss

[@kittencollective]

what time of year was this filmed? Spring?

[@kittencollective]

question answered in the video, month of March.

[@heppylifestyle]

i believe it's early April; maybe April 7. i'm pretty good at selecting the actual/real 'film date' so i know when i did what i did :/. thanks for stopping by kittencollective!

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

​@heppylifestyle so could I prune a one year old plant right now in Texas?

[@zepguwlthistle7924]

how old are your wood chips?

[@heppylifestyle]

@zepguwlthistle7924. It depends. when I was building-out the garden (when vid was shot), the woodchips were NO more than 2 yrs old. IF you're asking about woodchips for propagation: should be ~at least~ 6 months old; you should see some level of decay in the woodchips (discoloration, water absorption); and rainfall plays a role. Then fungus will take over after a year (a good thing). In four yrs, woodchips begin turning into soil! Cutting thrive and the roots spread -- so transplant or pot 'em, otherwise you'll have a LOT of Elderberry!

[@zepguwlthistle7924]

@@heppylifestyle thank you, so wood chips 1 year old should be good to put on them? We have a tree company dumping on our property, a great blessing for us and them. People refer to where we live as the wood chip place lol. I was concerned to put anything younger than 1 year, so you put 6 mos old on plants? not sure which aspect of propagation you are meaning.

[@heppylifestyle]

@@zepguwlthistle7924 absolutely -- 1 year old woodchips will be great! then you're like me with the woodchip dumping. it is the IDEAL soil medium. i appreciate your wood chip place -- lol! my mature fruit trees did well in the 2024 heat wave / drought, kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZTWfGWiqdZqj6c technically, i'm estimating 6 months based on my experience. in practice, i literally look and feel the woodchips. as you know, you'll see signs of decay (discoloration, water absorption, fungal action). 16:10 to 21:10 propagation method 3, propagation in woodchips, AND a warning if you don't remove the canes after they start growing :/ thank you for your interest and for stopping by!

[@joefisher7792]

Watch out for those inch worms

[@heppylifestyle]

🤓 will do Joe!

[@melissaharland5609]

Um laughing cuz the same happened to me. 1st time trying to grow one in containers n one grew so long I tried to braid the 3 branches and one BROKE I said the same word n twisted the 2 left can't wait to prune purposely.

[@heppylifestyle]

;). sorry to hear about the broken branch but as you see, she's an Elderberry ;) you'll the fine! Thanks for stopping by Melissa, pete moss

[@Damselfly54315]

Wow, potty mouth,you can make TONS of cuttings from ALL you cut off

[@heppylifestyle]

sorry; a little a potty ;). about cuttings: BE careful cause the cuttings will grow and and grow. i finally potted them but am also still digging up roots from those cuttings. anywho, thanks for stopping by!