Elderberry Confusion

9 years ago

A few years ago I ordered two elderberry bushes, a York and an Adams #2 from the same place. They're both quite large now and producing. The problem is one has really huge berries and the other has small. I have read that the York produces some of the largest berries. The dilema is that the big berries are on the plant labeled as the Adams. Do you think that my tags were 'switched at birth' and mislabeled? Both plants are right next to each other, and the one that was labeled as the 'York' exhibits remarkable similarity to my Adams #1 in habit, which I know is a properly named bush. Last year it had flower clusters that were over 15 inches, but small berries. The one labeled 'York' has panicles that remain upright and the 'Adams' has drooping panicles, if that helps. And the berry clusters are so huge that they are literally breaking. Any thoughts?

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Comments (4)

garymc
9 years ago
Where did you buy the most recent ones?
lucky_p
9 years ago
garymac,
Someone sent me a link to The Botany Shop, in Joplin, MO - now offering a number of superior elderberry selections. Bought some of every variety they had available, this spring, looking forward to seeing how they do. Nice little plants, great prices.

Been watching the natives growing along the highways here - looks like the best elderberry crop in years!

Here is a link that might be useful: Elderberries @ Botany Shop
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fruitful412
Original Author
9 years ago
garymc:

The most recent one was last year, Nova, from Gurney's, and I love that one. Big berries and the SWD do not bother it. But the originals, the Adams and York, I have no idea. I looked through my records, and I usually keep good ones, but that one is not there. Figures.

I started out with wild bushes, both American and European, and have only recently tried some cultivated berries. And the wild ones are still my best performers, although the berries are smaller than the cultivated varieties.

And lucky_p, up here the local berries alongside the roadways looked good in flower, but I've been keeping tabs on them. Most of the panicles are devoid of fruit, didn't set all that well, sort of like my Adams #1. Probably only about 20%, if that. But my original wild American gave me over 15 pounds of berries this year, the best ever. And seven 'elderbabies' about four feet away from the main cluster just waiting for a transplant.
garymc
9 years ago
I had tried and tried to plant cuttings from elderberries without success. Finally, this spring (March, I think) I cut some wood with at least 3 nodes, about 2 feet long or more from a wild bush I have in my yard. I dug holes a foot or more deep and planted them. Almost every one lived. Some even produced berries. I don't know if it was the time of year, or the thumb sized thickness of the wood, or the depth of planting. I'm thinking depth. Now I'm wondering, when I go to transplant them, if I'll have to dig down 3 feet to get the roots. My only surviving North American named variety is Bob Gordon from the Botany Shop. The plants don't get near as big as the wild ones, but, as advertised, the panicles invert and droop.