Elderberry is a very interesting plant fanned by folk beliefs. She is a member of the honeysuckle family. About 40 different types of elderberry are known. In the north of our country, the most common racemose, or red elderberry. Previously, it was an obligatory accessory of a village farmstead or a personal plot.
It was believed that the characteristic smell of elderberry leaves could repel flies, mice and garden pests. The elderberry is red, or ordinary, like the elderberry herbaceous, the plants are poisonous. Their flowers and berries contain cyanoglycosides, which is responsible for their almond smell.
Black elderberry, known for its medicinal properties, is most common in the south. It contains a lot of medicinal and biologically active substances in flowers and fruits.
Black elderberry flowers are used to prepare medicinal infusions, which are used as a diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, disinfectant, choleretic and laxative, as well as for external use for burns, boils and wounds. The fruits are used to make jams, compotes, jams, marmalades, they are also used in the alcoholic beverage industry.
Black elderberry is a shrub or small tree up to 10 meters tall. It has a gray bark, leaves are large, pinnate, consisting of individual lobes from 3 to 9 in number. There are many varieties of black elderberry. Its decorative varieties are used in garden and park plantings. Popular varieties include Purple, Madonna, Golden, Pulverulenta, Marginata, Lanceolate, Eva. The foliage of the elderberry of these varieties is very beautiful: golden yellow, with silver edging, purple, bright green, dark purple.
The flowers of black elderberry are collected in wide thyroid inflorescences, white or with a yellowish tint. In ornamental varieties, flowers can be creamy pink (variety Eva) and light pink. They have a pleasant aroma that attracts honey-gathering insects.
Black elderberry fruits are small shiny black-purple berries containing 2 or 3 seeds. They ripen in September.
Cultivation of elderberry
Different types of elderberry differ from each other in winter hardiness. Red elderberry tolerates winter frosts well, and black elderberry often freezes slightly. Among its varieties there are both frost-resistant and afraid of the cold. Non-lignified shoots of such varieties freeze over. Therefore, when buying an elderberry seedling, be interested in its frost resistance.
Where to plant elderberry? Elderberry, which has a not very pleasant smell that repels flies, is traditionally placed near toilets, compost and cesspools. Elderberry loves the light, although, at the same time, she is shade-tolerant. It should be borne in mind that decorative varieties with a lack of light lose their attractiveness, their leaves become pale-colored.
Elderberry will grow worse on sandy soil than on loamy soil. The soil should be moderately moist and as nutritious as possible, and the planting site should be protected from cold northern winds.
Care of young plants consists in watering, loosening the soil, thinning, removing weeds. An adult elder does not require much care. In the spring, her old shoots need to be cut. In order for the elderberry not to spread throughout the garden, old slate can be dug into the ground around it to a depth of 50 cm at a distance of one and a half meters from the bush. It is good to mulch the soil under elderberry with peat or compost. Periodically, it needs to be fed with mineral fertilizers. Especially the plant loves urea.
elderberry reproduction
Propagated elderberry cuttings, seeds and layering.
cuttings can be both lignified and green. Harvest them in June or early July. Cuttings are cut with two or three internodes. The prepared cuttings are placed in a mixture of sand and peat, covered with a jar on top. They need to be watered regularly. In autumn, cuttings can be planted in the ground.
When breeding seeds they are harvested at the end of October, and can be sown both in spring and autumn. When sown in autumn, seeds do not need to be specially prepared. They are sown to a depth of 2 - 2.5 cm. Seedlings usually appear in April.
For spring sowing, the seeds are stratified. To do this, they are pre-soaked for several (3 - 6) days. When soaking, the water must be changed every day. Then they are mixed with moistened sand and placed in a sealed package on a refrigerator shelf for 50 - 60 days. This technique improves seed germination. By the end of the first summer season, seedlings grow up to half a meter. At the age of one year, they can already be planted in a permanent place.
layering Elderberries can be dropped in both autumn and spring. When propagated by layering after planting, the main branches are shortened by 10 cm, the plant is regularly watered until it starts to grow.
Good luck in growing this useful plant!
Under natural conditions, black elder grows in the southwest and south of the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus and in southern Siberia in the undergrowth of broad-leaved forests, in shrubs, singly or in small groups.
The fruits of black elderberry are spherical, small, shiny, black-violet, with red-violet juicy pulp, sweet and sour with a characteristic aroma. Diameter - about 0.4 cm, weight - 0.2 g. Gathered in large clusters. The fruits contain sugars, malic, tartaric, valeric and acetic acids, essential oils, tannins, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), citrine (vitamin P), carotene and other biologically active substances. Unlike red elderberries, whose fruits are inedible, black elderberries do not contain harmful substances. Fresh fruits have a specific taste, which disappears during processing.
The fruits can be dried, as well as to prepare jam, marmalade, jelly, juice, soft drinks from them. It is advisable to use juice as a food coloring.
A decoction of young leaves, flowers, fruits, flower buds should be used as an astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, as well as for rinsing the mouth and poultices. Poultices are recommended for rheumatism, gout, arthritis. Young blossoming spring leaves can be boiled in honey and used as a laxative for chronic constipation. Peeled young shoots are good to eat boiled or pickled. When mixing dried flowers with ordinary tea (1:3), an aromatic medicinal tea is obtained. Jam and fruit jelly is a dietary remedy for gastric and intestinal diseases. Fresh fruits should be used for rheumatism and neuralgia. Kissel from dried fruits can be used as a laxative.
Elderberry phytoncides help well in the fight against mice and rats. Previously, it was planted around barns, stacks of hay were interleaved with branches and trunks of apple trees were tied around. Elderberry growing in the garden repels moths, codling moths, moths, etc. Fresh branches placed in vessels with water between currant bushes, gooseberries, raspberries (before flowering) protect against pests. Due to the rapid growth, undemanding and decorative elderberry, it is advisable to use it in landscaping.
Biological features of black elderberry. It is a shrub or small tree up to 6m high. The branches are covered with brown lenticels. The trunk and older branches are ash gray with cracked bark and soft white pith. The leaves are pinnate with five to seven ovate leaflets, have an unpleasant odor. The flowers are white, small, fragrant, collected in large flat thyroid panicles. Blossoms in June, the fruits ripen at the end of August and do not crumble after the leaves fall. In the Moscow region, in some winters, the above-ground part freezes, but quickly recovers.
In some countries, active breeding work is being carried out to create high-yielding and winter-hardy varieties of black elderberry with large tassels and simultaneous fruit ripening. In the USA, varieties Adam, John, Nova, etc. have been bred.
Black elderberry should be propagated by seeds (the easiest way), layering, stump growth, green cuttings. If freshly harvested seeds are sown in autumn, then, having undergone natural stratification in cold weather, they germinate at the beginning of summer. It is necessary to sow no deeper than 1 cm, add humus. For spring sowing, seeds require 50 days of artificial stratification. Then it is necessary to thin out seedlings, weed weeds, water and loosen the soil.
Place for landing. There is an erroneous opinion that black elderberry is not particularly demanding on soil fertility and crown illumination, but it bears fruit and overwinters better on fertile soil and in well-lit open areas. It should be remembered about the volatile and decorative properties of elderberry.
How to plant a black elderberry. The above-ground and root system of the seedling should be shortened to 20-25 cm, the roots should be treated with clay mash and planted in pre-prepared pits (50x50x50 cm) at the same depth as in the nursery. The distance between the pits is at least 1.5 m. One plant requires two or three buckets of humus, phosphorus and potassium (respectively 100 and 50 g of a.i.), well mixed with the soil. The pit should be filled and compacted with the foot. The seedling should be watered in two or three doses and mulched with peat or humus with a layer of 7-10 cm.
Black elderberry care . Plants need to be fed with mineral fertilizers, loosen the soil, water, mulch and shape.
Black elderberry tolerates pruning well: the branches, recovering, create a good crown. You need to prune annually in spring or summer so that the bushes are not tall. Black elderberry responds well to organic fertilization, top dressing, watering and mulching. In the spring, it should be fed with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (20-30g per 1m2). In summer, depending on the moisture content, it is necessary to water, and after one or two days, loosen and mulch the soil.
When and how to harvest flowers. This should be done during the entire period of flowering of black elderberry before the corollas begin to shed, that is, for two to three weeks in June-July. Inflorescences cut with secateurs must be put in baskets or boxes. They should be dried under awnings or in attics with good ventilation, laying out in one layer on clean paper or cloth. The end of drying can be determined by the fragility of the branches of inflorescences. Dried inflorescences should be threshed with sticks, the flowers should be separated on sieves (sieves) and poured into paper bags.
When and how to harvest fruits. From one bush you can collect about 2 kg of fruit. They must be harvested at full maturity. At the time of harvest, cut bunches should be placed loosely in baskets or boxes. Next, the bunches must be dried in the open air, spread out in a thin layer on paper or cloth, then dried in ovens or ovens at a temperature of 60 ° C or in the open air in the shade. Dried fruits must be threshed and separated with sieves from the stalks and twigs.
Like tongues of flame, tubular dark red flowers flare up on thick, sprawling, elegant bushes of Aeschinanthus. Delightful plant textures, strict lines and a discreet combination of red and dark green are a real room classic. Eschinanthus is in no way inferior to more fashionable exotic plants. And in its whimsicality - in the first place. This is one of the most difficult houseplants to grow and does not require regular care.
Chickpea snacks - hummus with sun-dried tomatoes and roasted chickpeas - a great solution for a friendly beer party or home gatherings with a glass of wine. This is a budget snack that does not take much time to prepare. Chickpeas need to be soaked in cold water in the evening, this is a must. Soak chickpeas from 8 to 24 hours, during which time the beans soften, so they cook pretty quickly. Chickpeas are cooked for about 1.5-2 hours, no attention is required.
In the summer, many flower growers expose plants to the air, taking them out to the balcony or taking them with them to the country. But only some indoor flowers will become a worthy decoration of the garden, forming harmonious compositions along with popular annual plants. Today it is in fashion to use indoor plants as a highlight of container compositions. In this article, we will look at how to do it right, and which houseplants are best suited for this.
Appearing on plants, rust leads to death, first of all, leaves, then shoots. A diseased plant, even if it does not die immediately, most likely will not survive the frosty winter. The disease reduces winter hardiness and strikes at the plant's immunity. Recognizing rust is easy. It appears on the underside of the leaf in the form of small growths of a brown-rusty color, which are called pustules. Growths can be different in shape and size
Protecting plants from various diseases in the summer takes the lion's share of summer residents' time. And, unfortunately, this struggle does not always end with a positive result for plants. One of the most harmful diseases affecting gooseberries is American powdery mildew, or gooseberry spheroteca. In this article, we will tell you whether it is possible to prevent the onset of the disease, and what to do if American powdery mildew does appear on gooseberries.
What they don’t cook from zucchini - pancakes, pancakes, pies, casseroles, you can’t list everything. The easiest way to fry is on the grill, or in a frying pan, with garlic-dill sauce, you get just a magical dish. There are foods that are made for each other, in my opinion, this is zucchini, garlic and dill - one of the most successful culinary combinations. According to this simple recipe with a photo, it is also delicious to fry eggplant or pumpkin, it turns out something new every time, and there is only one recipe.
Continuing the “question-answer” section from the Buisky Fertilizers company, today we will talk about corrective dressings during the growing season. To do this, we are accustomed to using complex mineral fertilizers, the effectiveness of which largely depends on how well we can dissolve them in water. But, thanks to the emergence of complex fertilizers of the new generation Aquarinam, this problem disappears by itself. Read about all the advantages of "Aquarins" in the article.
Fragrant, shining with noble silver and purple, spicy lavender is a favorite plant of many flower growers. Dry lavender inflorescences are great in bouquets, and in the garden the plant is rightfully considered one of the brightest. But if you love lavender and its aroma and want to admire the bushes all the time, you should try to grow a charming shrub in a room format. True, this is not the easiest potted plant, it requires attention and care.
Strawberry tiramisu with ricotta and cream is a light dessert for those who do not like coffee or for some reason have to give it up. If coffee is not in your diet, this is not a reason to give up your favorite dessert, because you can come up with different syrups to soak biscuit cookies, for example, strawberry. The tiramisu cream in this egg-free recipe is a break from tradition that many will appreciate. I don’t like raw eggs in cream, so I’m trying to get out of this situation in every way.
Herbes de Provence, or Herbes de Provence, is the name given to mixtures of Provencal Mediterranean kitchen herbs that can be used to enhance the smell and taste of various dishes. Provence is a province in the south of France where various herbs are traditionally grown, hence the name. The composition of a fragrant herbes de Provence mixture can be very diverse, but the basic herbs, as a rule, are: thyme, marjoram, rosemary, basil and savory.
This flower can be considered a classic of ornamental gardening. The stock-rose, or mallow has been cultivated since the 15th century! For several centuries, the stock rose was considered a special flower. It was grown both in palace gardens and in the farmsteads of peasants. Today, the fashion for stock-rose is back again. And the appearance of suede forms makes it desirable in the gardens of the most sophisticated flower growers. How to grow a stock rose and where to buy the best seeds of suede forms, read our article.
It's a shame, but a huge number of fragrant plants exude their divine aroma not for us - caring and attentive flower growers. For flowers, smell is a kind of language in which they communicate with insects. Thus, the plants "say" that they are full of delicious nectar, and it's time to visit them, while carrying out pollination. Very many flowers have a particularly strong fragrance during the hours when it is "their" pollinating insects that fly out in search of food.
Homemade pork sausage with chicken - a simple recipe for boiled sausage without intestines. For cooking, you only need meat, spices and cling film. An important point - when cooking sausage, the water should not boil! If there is no culinary thermometer, then the temperature is determined as follows - light steam is formed above the water, and small bubbles sometimes collect at the bottom of the pan. If the water is about to boil, add warm water to reduce the heat. Serve cold, with mustard and horseradish.
Cabbage has been a favorite vegetable crop in our country since time immemorial. It is difficult to imagine a Russian table without sauerkraut or stewed cabbage, borscht, cabbage rolls and all kinds of salads. Not surprisingly, many gardeners prefer to grow this crop on their own. The incentive for this is also given by a wide variety of varieties that have appeared recently - not only white cabbage, but also cauliflower, and kohlrabi, and broccoli ... But growing cabbage is not easy.
Among the favorite vegetable crops in our gardens, radish is relatively rare. At the same time, the common radish (Raphanus sativus L.) has many cultural forms that are successfully grown all over the world. Among them, the well-known ones predominate - black radish, large white radish (daikon), Chinese Margelan radish (Lobo), green, sweet, sowing (radish), oilseed and others. Why radish is worth growing and what features its agricultural technology has, read the article.
Elderberry is a useful plant of the Adox family of the dicotyledonous plant class. Back in the 70s of the 20th century, this shrub was assigned to the honeysuckle family, but in 2003 the APG II classification was published, where elder genera, like viburnum, are assigned to the Adox family.
The genus Elderberry (Sambucus) includes four dozen species of various plants. It is found in temperate climatic zones of Europe and Asia, North Africa, Australia. It is found everywhere in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, in the south-east of Russia. Most often it grows as a middle layer of vegetation in deciduous and coniferous forests, on the edges, along roads, it grows rapidly, forming dense thickets. Elderberry has been known to mankind for many centuries, the mention of it is found in the writings of Pliny (1st century AD).
Description of elderberry
Black elderberry in landscape design photo What does a black elderberry look like
Elderberry, most often a bush or a low tree, is from 2 to 10 m tall. There are also herbaceous plants in the genus, for example, "herbaceous elder". However, we will pay more attention to the black elderberry, as the most sought-after representative of the elderberry genus.
Black elderberry is a perennial woody plant. The branches are thick and thin. Young stems are green in color, but, growing up, acquire a characteristic gray color, covered with small "scales". The leaves consist of an unpaired number of long, serrated leaflets, the total leaf length can be up to 30 cm.
Elderberry blooms at the end of May. Large, more than 20 cm in diameter, flat corymbs of inflorescences consist of white or light beige flowers of 0.8 cm each. The aroma of elderberry blossom is strong, slightly suffocating near. At the end of summer, fruits ripen - a brush of black berries with seeds. The berries themselves are small, less than a centimeter. Inside - reddish pulp.
Elderberry is a fast-growing plant, and even very useful, therefore, attention will be paid here not only to its planting, care and formation, but also to its beneficial properties, as well as situations where it can be dangerous.
How and when to plant elderberry
It is better to place elderberry from the northern or eastern sides of the site. Take into account that young branches have a very sharp, specific smell that repels insects, so elderberry is not planted near houses, but located near toilets, sheds, compost pits. If you want to plant near the terrace, where people are periodically, then the absence of mosquitoes will be a nice bonus. In general, the plant is not particularly demanding, but a dense shade or very acidic soil will adversely affect its development.
An experienced gardener knows that it is necessary to alkalize the soil wisely, and for elderberry - a couple of years before planting. And for beginners, we suggest: liming the soil is carried out by adding dolomite flour to it (today the most popular remedy for acidification of soils). The optimal pH for elderberry is 6-6.5.
When planting this shrub, give preference to one- or two-year-old seedlings, choose a bright place for it and, as usual, plant it in spring or autumn.
To plant a hole, prepare in advance, you will also need:
- humus - a bucket;
- phosphates - 50 g;
- potash fertilizers - 30g.
In a pit (depth 80 cm, width 50 cm), we fill up a mixture of the listed components and the upper, fertile layer of the earth (this must be taken care of when digging a pit). We use about two-thirds and leave to rest for a month. Already during the planting of the seedling, we loosen the mixture in the pit, deepen the seedling, sprinkle the roots with the soil mixture from the pit, and then completely the remaining third.
As a result, the root neck of the tree should be several centimeters above the level of the plot, however, after tamping and watering (a bucket or one and a half), the seedling will sag and be on the same level with the rest of the soil.
Most often, cultivated elderberry is grown as a bush, and if someone wants to grow it as a tree, then you need to think about the support and dig the appropriate column during planting, and then tie a seedling to it.
Seasonal elderberry care
Spring
Overwintered trees are freed from insulating material near the trunks, from leaves and other debris accumulated in the holes. If the winter was snowless, and the spring is dry, then spring watering should be carried out.
Take a close look at the bush. If there is damage from rodents or bad weather, then treat them with a solution of potassium permanganate and seal with garden pitch. As soon as the bright spring sun appears, there is a chance for the tree to get burned, because the bark of the tree heats up during the day and cools down at night, down to frost. Such differences are clearly not in favor of the tree. To prevent damage, the trees should be whitewashed with lime, thick enough to leave a noticeable layer on the bark.
- Before the start of juice flow, prune the elderberry. The bush lends itself well to formation. By nature, the shape of the bush is oval, not sprawling, if desired, you can leave this shape or shape it to your taste.
- In the spring, it is necessary to remove dried and frozen branches, remove the stems directed into the bush, it is advisable to get rid of about a quarter of the old branches.
- Be sure to cut the root shoots. After that, seal the sections with garden pitch, and treat the bush with Bordeaux liquid or Nitrofen, prophylactically from pests that managed to overwinter in the bark or in the foliage near the bush.
Summer
Elder grows very quickly, especially if favorable conditions are created for it:
- timely watering;
- pest and disease control;
- loosening the soil around the trunk;
- mulching of the trunk circle;
- extra food.
After the flowering period, it is necessary to spray against pests and diseases. Again, carefully remove the root shoots, otherwise, you miss a little, and it will overtake the main bush or, even worse, begin to spread over the site. To prevent such expansion, you can protect the root system of elderberry by digging some kind of barrier to a depth of half a meter, for example, a piece of slate.
The end of summer can bring the first harvest of berries. A rainy summer can bring re-growth of shoots. What with the fact that with the other we know what to do.
Autumn
Autumn is the time to harvest and prepare for winter.
We harvest, cook jam, jam, dry the berries. We prepare the bush for wintering:
- we carry out "sanitary" pruning (end of September);
- we dig up the planting holes, apply fertilizers, mulch the soil (end of September);
- if you plan to plant elderberry in the fall, then the last week of September is suitable for digging a hole;
- if the autumn is dry, then it is necessary to water the bush well before winter;
- plant treatment from wintering pests (October);
- whitewashing with slaked lime (October).
Let's talk in more detail about the processing of elderberry. If there are no visible pests or diseases, then preventive treatment twice a year is still required. You can use these drugs:
- Bordeaux liquid;
- Nitrofen (3% solution);
- copper sulfate (1% solution);
- urea (7% solution) is relevant in the spring, because it will also be a nitrogen fertilizer.
The time of the first procedure is early spring, before the start of the growing season, and the second is autumn, after leaf fall.
Elderberry will only ask for watering in a very dry summer.
then you have to pour up to two buckets under a bush a week. If the summer is with a normal level of precipitation, and you also mulched the near-stem circle, then sometimes loosening the soil under the bush, weeding the weeds will be quite enough. For young seedlings, of course, more scrupulous care is needed - both watering and loosening, but this is temporary until the elderberry gets stronger.
If the soil is fertile, and even under the bush there is mulch from compost or rotted manure, then the elder does not need to be fed. On poorer soils, nitrogen fertilizers will not be superfluous. You can use popular organic fertilizers: slurry, chicken manure. Suitable complex mineral fertilizers. Apply fertilizer in the spring.
- The care of the garden and front garden includes the obligatory pruning of trees and shrubs.
- When planting elderberry, its shoots are shortened to 10 cm on a strong outer bud.
- The same procedure is carried out every three years to rejuvenate the bush, called pruning under the stump.
- Spring pruning rules are described above.
- Autumn pruning is aimed at removing branches damaged by wind or harvest.
Note that elderberry is used in park culture as a plant for hedges, so it tolerates pruning easily and allows you to create various shapes.
If you use elderberry fruits, then remember that the 2-3-year-old branches are the richest in berries, and after the sixth year of harvest, you should not wait on such a branch.
elderberry reproduction
There are vegetative and seed types of reproduction.
Growing elderberry seeds
It makes sense to propagate elderberry seeds only if you purchased varietal seeds in a specialized store, since seeds collected from a tree do not retain parental characteristics and just a wild game will grow.
- Elderberry seedlings can be obtained from seeds by sowing them in February-March in containers with nutrient soil or ready-made soil mixture.
- Remember that there should be holes in the bottom of the landing tank for water to drain.
- The seeds should be planted shallowly, no more than 1-1.5 cm. The distance between the seeds is 4-5 cm, but it is better if planted in separate cups.
- Pour over and cover with foil.
- We air until shoots appear 1 time per day, after which we remove the shelter.
- When the seedlings grow a little, they are transplanted into larger containers by transshipment.
Only grown seedlings are planted in the ground in spring How to propagate black elderberry photo
It will be possible to plant plants in the ground only next year in the spring, when they are strong enough. Having gained strength over the summer, they will be able to prepare for the winter.
Yet most often elderberry is propagated vegetatively:
- layering;
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush.
Reproduction by layering- a popular way because of the 100% result. We bend the young branch to the ground, after pouring manure into the groove, we dig in, leaving the end of the shoot on top. For greater confidence, you can press the branch to the ground with metal hooks. At the base, we pull the shoot with wire.
- If such a procedure is done with the onset of sustained heat, using a stiffened shoot, then in the fall the rooted shoot can already be separated from the mother bush and transplanted to a new place.
- It is easier with green shoots, they do not need to be tied up at the base, but they should be planted next year, when they become stiff.
- Such shoots do not particularly need to be fixed, they are very soft, that is, they dug in and have planting material for the next season.
How to propagate elderberry cuttings
When cutting planting material is chopped parts of a green shoot up to 25 cm long. A prerequisite is the presence of 2-3 internodes and two paired leaves. We process the lower part of the cutting with stimulants for the growth of the root system and plant it in a mixture of sand and peat at an angle. True, the best cutting will be a young shoot cut off from a branch with a “heel”, because it is there that the rapid formation of roots will take place.
- Cuttings need to create greenhouse conditions (you can cover with a high plastic bag, a jar or part of a five-liter plastic eggplant).
- We maintain high humidity for the first week: we spray the air in the “greenhouse” from a fine spray gun, you should not get on the leaves, as this will cause them to rot.
- If you plant cuttings in early summer, then in the fall there will already be roots and the plant can be transplanted to a permanent place.
The video will tell about getting elderberry from cuttings, planting and care:
When the goal is to get an adult plant right away, then you can divide the elderberry bush. In the fall, dig up the elderberry, chop or saw the root to get equal parts with branches and a good rhizome. The resulting bushes must be planted immediately. You can do this in pre-prepared pits or in containers for wintering, and transplant to a permanent place in the spring. Most often this is done when redevelopment of a plot or flower garden.
Pests and diseases of elderberry
Elderberry is not affected by any exotic diseases. Of the pests, aphids are most often annoyed. One treatment with karbofos is enough here. You can meet the elder tailed moth, the elder leaf mite or the elder miner fly. Against these insects, karbofos or decis will also help, only it will have to be sprayed twice.
Consider popular varieties and types of elderberry with photos and descriptions
Elder black varieties and photos
Black elderberry (Latin Sambucus nigra) - a plant to which this article is mainly devoted, we associate with the village, simplicity, maybe someone with a grandmother in a colorful dress. This plant can use everything: flowers, leaves, bark, berries.
On the basis of this shrub, many beloved decorative forms have been bred.
Marginata - the leaves have a silver border around the edge, the bush can be about 2.5 m in height, it develops very quickly;
Black elderberry Madonna planting and care photo Sambucus nigra ‘Madonna’
Elderberry blue
A rather tall tree, often about 15 m, is a resident of the floodplains and mountain slopes of North America. There is also a shrub form with thin branches and young shoots of crimson hue. The trunk of the tree and shrub is yellowish-beige, and the leaves have a bluish tint. The leaf consists of 5-7 long bare leaves 6-15 cm long.
The flowers are small, white with a yellow or beige tint, collected in inflorescences up to 15 cm, have a characteristic aroma. In September, fruits ripen - blue-black berries, half a centimeter in diameter. Blue elderberry has a bluish coating on the berries, which makes it look really blue. It prefers warmer latitudes, as it does not differ in frost resistance.
Siberian elderberry
This subspecies of red elderberry is more resistant to frost, therefore it grows in Siberia, in the East, European Russia. Favorite places - mixed or coniferous forests, highlands. Siberian elderberry is a lush shrub up to 4 m high. It is also called red elderberry for the color of berries that ripen, by the way, in late July - early August. Ripe berries are edible, but not popular. But unripe fruits cause pain in the stomach, nausea, convulsions, headaches, and even can be fatal.
elderberry herbaceous
This is a perennial herbaceous plant with erect stems reaching a height of 1.5 m. The people call wild elderberry or stinky elderberry, for the sharp smell of flowers. In the wild, she is an inhabitant of forests, edges, floodplains, mountain slopes of Central Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. The leaves are placed on long petioles and consist of 9-11 narrow serrated leaflets. The flowers are collected in inflorescences, erect, white or pinkish.
Herbaceous elder fruits are black shiny drupes, very attractive in appearance and easily accessible to children. We must be careful, because all parts of the elderberry are poisonous (contain hydrocyanic acid). Some literature describes the use of these berries for the preparation of liqueurs and other alcoholic beverages, this is a moot point. Now, if you plant a currant with an elderberry, then this will scare away harmful butterflies and a kidney mite. But there is a minus here - this plant has a strong creeping stem, so it will be problematic to remove the elderberry from the currant. During the drying of the flowers, the unpleasant smell disappears and they are sprinkled with apples for storage.
Canadian elderberry
Native places for her are the rich soils of North America. This plant is loved by gardeners due to its remarkable decorative effect. Indeed: a large leaf, up to 30 cm, characteristic of elderberry, magnificent umbrellas of white inflorescences, reaching 25 cm in diameter, brushes of dark burgundy fruits, which are also edible. Let's add more resistance to the climate of the middle zone.
Several decorative forms can be noted:
- maxim - differs in power;
- acutibola - on the contrary, tender, with feathery foliage;
- chlorocarp - there is a yellow tint in the foliage, and the berries are green;
- aurea - its leaves are green only in summer, and in autumn and spring they are yellow.
Elder Siebold
Eastern relative of the red elderberry. Natural halo - Japan, the Kuriles, the Far East. In Europe, a cultural form is grown - a powerful plant (tree or bush) up to 8 m high has large leaves (20x6 cm). Inflorescences loose, racemose, large.
Elderberry fluffy
It got its name due to the fact that young shoots are pubescent. North America is considered the homeland. Cultivars - a four-meter shrub. in May, the color of the inflorescences is white, sometimes with a yellow tint, sometimes with pink. Fruits - red berries with a stone - ripen in July.
You can note the forms with a different color of the fruit:
- xanthocarpa - yellow-orange fruits;
- leucocarpa - white fruits.
Elderberry Uses and Precautions
The black elderberry is a wonderful plant, every part of it can be used. And not in vain.
Here is a list of useful substances that are contained in this plant:
- in the leaves - organic acids (malic, valeric, acetic, chlorogenic, coffee), carotene (provitamin A, as in carrots), tannins (eliminate the influence of microorganisms), choline (vitamin B4), vitamin C (0.28%) and etc.;
- in flowers - essential oils, valerian, malic and caffeic acids, choline, rutin, etc.;
- in berries - also carotene, malic acid, in addition - ascorbic acid, sugars, fructose and glucose, resin and dyes;
- in the bark - choline, phytosterol (cholesterol neutralizer), essential oil.
Leaves are used fresh as a compress for burns, boils, cuts. The sheet must first be steamed. The leaves have antipyretic, diaphoretic, diuretic, and mild laxative effects.
There is a rustic remedy for the treatment of chronic constipation. To prepare it, you need to boil the young shoots in honey, cool, drain and take "elder honey" inside.
From fresh flowers, you can make tea with the addition of lemongrass, mint
A tonic made from fresh elderberry flowers will please the skin. It is prepared simply: 10 inflorescences are poured with half a liter of boiling water, insisted for a day, filtered and stored in the refrigerator.
Lotions or baths of elderberry bark help with arthritis, rheumatism, gout. The decoction is recommended for diseases of the skin and kidneys.
In the season, thrifty housewives make preparations. The most widely used inflorescences and fruits. The flowers must be dried, carefully following the drying rules, as they are very susceptible to high humidity.
It is recommended to collect flowers on a dry, clear day in the afternoon ...
cut coarse roots as short as possible, dry naturally or in an electric dryer, not exceeding a temperature of 35˚. Wipe dry raw materials through a plastic sieve, discard coarse parts, store ready-made dry flowers for 2, maximum 3 years. We do the same with berries, only the shelf life of dried berries is reduced to six months.
It is worth remembering about your preparations during the period of colds, because it is the decoction that has antibacterial and diaphoretic properties. Making a decoction is simple: at the rate of 1 tablespoon of flowers, pour a glass of boiling water and leave on low heat for a quarter of an hour. Then you need to cool, strain and drink three times a day for half a glass.
A decoction of all parts of the elderberry is used to regulate metabolism. Dry flowers are poured over apples laid in storage.
Elderberry next to man for many centuries
The Latin name for elderberry is Sambucus Sambucus. One of the versions of the origin of this name is from the name of the ancient Iranian instrument sambuza, which was made from elderberry.
Our ancestors found many uses for this plant. One of them is based on the coloring matter of elderberries. Elderberry juice was used to dye fabrics: cotton, linen, hemp and silk. It turned out black, and when mixed with alum, blue came out. By fixing elderberry juice with vinegar, ink was obtained. Village girls blackened their eyebrows with berry juice.
The fruits and flowers were used to make drinks.
For example, from fresh flowers, lemon juice, zest and water after fermentation, a light refreshing drink was obtained. Vodka was made from fermented berries. Also, elderberry is one of the ingredients of the famous Italian liqueur Sambuca. The exact recipe for its preparation is kept secret, but home craftsmen offer to make the drink themselves and it contains dried black elderberry flowers.
In the villages in the spring, they were happy with the first greenery, so they made salads from various young plants, including young elderberry shoots added to salads. If you want to experiment, so to speak, return to basics, then keep in mind that young elderberry shoots have a laxative and diuretic effect.
Jam made from black elderberries
The recipe is simple: a centimeter layer of berries was sprinkled with a layer of sugar, and so on several layers (for 1 kg of berries, 1 kg of sugar); let stand for a day, boil for 15 minutes and pour into sterile jars.
At a time when plants were treated with respect, there was even a reverent attitude towards elderberry. It was believed that it was unfortunate to cut down an elder bush that had grown on its own in the courtyard, and before a sudden meeting with this plant, the men took off their hats. This respect is not idle.
Even Hippocrates believed that elderberry can cure a dozen diseases. And Cikkerot (a doctor of the 18th century) recommended that every housewife have dried elderberry flowers at home and jam in case of a cold or illness of the kidneys and bladder.
Prepared from berries and young wine
You need a three-liter jar of juice and a glass of sugar or honey. The jar is tightly sealed and gases are vented through a water lock. Fermentation is carried out in a warm place, without access to sunlight. When finished, the wine is bottled, corked and stored horizontally in the cellar.
Already in the 21st century, the elder was remembered again. It turns out that its use has positive results in the treatment of cancer and diabetes. B vitamins in berries are collected in exceptionally correct proportions for humans.
You can talk for a long time about the beneficial properties of this plant familiar to the eye, but there are also contraindications. The most basic is individual intolerance to the components that make up the composition. Therefore, it is necessary to start using small doses, carefully listening to the body. Pregnant and lactating women, people with Crohn's disease, chronic stomach diseases should definitely not take elderberry in one form or another.
The most dangerous are other elderberries, such as red elderberry, whose berries can be confused with black elderberry. There is only one recommendation here: if you are not sure what kind of plant it is, then it is better not to use it.
Elderberry is a whole genus of deciduous shrubs or small trees. One of the plant species used in cultivation is also herbaceous. In total, there are about 40 different species, but only a few of them are cultivated.
This plant is not only a wonderful decoration of any site, but also an excellent protector of it from pests. That is why elderberry is often planted near barns, and its young branches are often used as "scarecrows" from pests and insects.
Under natural conditions, elderberry has chosen the European part of the CIS for growth. In addition, it is found in the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. It prefers to grow in the undergrowth of mixed and coniferous forests, on their edges or in bushes. More and more gardeners today plant this beautiful plant on their plots, using it as an ornamental and useful plant.
Choosing a site for planting elderberry
If you decide to plant elderberry on your site, then, initially, you need to take care of the place where it will be planted. This genus is quite unpretentious to growing conditions, but very poor soils, strong shade can negatively affect the growth of the plant and, of course, its appearance. Your shrub, if you choose the wrong place for planting, may not be so attractive to the eye. To avoid this, the site recommends choosing a well-lit area, this condition is especially important for those plant varieties that have variegated or colored leaves. For planting, loamy moist soddy-podzolic soils are desirable, while their acidity level should correspond to an interval of 6-6.5.
If your site still has exceptionally acidic soils, then a couple of years before planting the elderberry, it is necessary to make liming, for which the use of dolomite flour would be a good option. Subsequently, a month before planting the shrub, it is necessary to prepare the soil: destroy all weeds, apply mineral fertilizers.
In the conditions of Russia, black elderberry and red elderberry are the most popular. Both forms of this plant have highly decorative varieties that are great for gardens. But it should be noted that red elderberry berries are poisonous, and, therefore, it is not recommended for planting in places accessible to children. It is because of this property that black elderberry can still be found much more often with us.
There are several forms of bushes of this plant:
- Low. This form of shrub is equipped with a spherical crown, while the total height does not exceed one meter.
- Weeping. Such a plant has distinctive branches "drooping" to the ground.
- Pyramidal. According to the name, the crown has the shape of a pyramid.
- Fern-leaved. The leaves of this type of plant are equipped with beautiful, graceful cuts, its height reaches 1.8-2.4 meters.
- The Porphyroleaf Elderberry has a wide range of leaf colors that range from purple to black.
- Powdery elderberry has leaves covered with small dots and specks of white.
The most popular ones used in horticulture are: Marginata Pulverulenta, Madonna, Aurea, Linearis, Laciniata, Purpurea Guincho, Beauty Black, Purple lack, Eva, Lace.
Reproduction methods
You can propagate elderberries using seeds and cuttings. If you chose the first method, then it is worth noting that all the main features and properties of the variety will be lost. And the process itself is quite simple: the seeds are collected in the fall (around mid-October), after which they are sown in beds with a distance between rows of 25 cm. The sowing depth should be 2-3 centimeters. At the end of the season, seedlings will reach 50-60 cm in height.
In order to grow elderberry through cuttings, it is necessary to choose still green or woody annual shoots. Planting material must be cut into cuttings of 20-30 cm, each of which should have 2-3 internodes. After the green cuttings must be planted in the greenhouse. At the same time, the top layer of soil is sprinkled with a small amount of a mixture of sand and peat. If already stiff shoots are used as planting material, then in winter it is better to store them in the cold, for example, in snow or a basement. After spring, they land in fertilized and loosened soil.
How to plant an elderberry
One-, two-year-old plants should be planted on the site. To do this, select the northern or eastern edge of the site. For good pollination of the plant, it is desirable that other diverse plants are nearby. Directly planting itself is carried out in spring or autumn in good, warm weather. Before planting, pits are prepared, whose width and depth should correspond to the root system of the plant (about 50 cm). In the pit, mixed with the top fertile soil layer, 7-8 kg of humus, 30-50 g of potash fertilizers and 50 g of phosphorus should be added. Shrubs are buried up to the root neck. As a trunk, you can use a stake, which in height should not slightly reach the lower branches. You do not need to tie the bushes. After planting, the plant must be watered and be sure to monitor the soil moisture until a good engraftment.
Features of care
Caring for elderberries is actually not that laborious. It is enough at the beginning of the summer season to feed it a little with organic fertilizers. Additional watering is necessary only in dry or hot weather. In the spring, it is advisable to cut the elderberry, which will stimulate the growth of new shoots. Elderberry can sometimes be attacked by aphids or mites, causing its leaves to curl up. In this case, it is recommended to treat the plant with voloton (20 g per 10 liters of water). You can try another method: treat the plant with an infusion of bitter red pepper or onion peel.
Elderberry - planting, care, properties (video)
plant application
Elderberry is a wonderful decoration for any garden plot, while having wonderful properties and unpretentiousness in care. It is ideal for those gardens that are created as an imitation of the living "corners of nature", made in a landscape style.
Natural, natural types of elderberry are often used as elements of decorative groups, as well as as tapeworms. Dwarf elderberry is great for creating an alpine slide.
The flowers of the red and black elderberry are used as an aromatic additive to tea drinks, and they are also used in folk medicine to combat a variety of diseases.
In some cases, elderberry may not bear fruit, but for what reasons!
