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PlantMatter

American Elderberry Tree

$12.00 USD
$12.00 USD
Sale Sold out

Elderberry Tree
Sambucus canadensis

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant every 8 feet
sunlight requirements: 8-14 hours
look out for: elder shoot borer and aphids
harvest notes: prune to keep at harvestable height
perennial

Syrup made from the dark purple elderberry has long been popular as a folk remedy for colds with good reason. The berries are high in vitamin C, iron, bioflavonoids, essential fatty acids and antioxidants which strengthen the heart, improve circulation and boost skin health. 

A warning from Jules, our resident herbalist: all fresh plant matter is mildly toxic and can cause nausea and or diarrhea. Even when using the berries and flowers, you want to ferment // apply heat to them before consuming.

Elderflowers are an excellent remedy for acute ailments like flus and fever. They’re diaphoretic, so they help promote sweating and perspiration. They reduce inflammation and are a diuretic, helping to eliminate toxins. Elderflowers have the ability to shorten the duration and severity of Flu symptoms. The flowers are also an anti-histamine meaning they can help relieve allergy symptoms.

Elderflowers are warmly fragrant and their naturally occurring yeast makes them well-suited for fermentation into sparkling wine. The flowers can also be brewed into a cordial by combining several handfuls of flowers with equal parts sugar and water, lemon juice and lemon zest. After boiling, allow the mixture to rest for several days before straining, then refrigerate. When harvesting elderflowers, collect them in the morning when they’re most fragrant, making sure to leave more than half of the flowers on the tree so they can mature into clusters of berries. 

Elderberry trees are actually quite commonly found growing wild as “weeds” in ditches, swales, river banks and by roadsides because they love standing or moving water. These small trees can grow to about 12-15 feet tall and they spread through root suckers and runners so they can get a bit out of control if they are very happy in your yard. They can also be propagated easily from cuttings for this reason, just throw an 8 inch stem cutting into water and roots will burst out of the soft bark. 

Materials

All of our plants are produced using OMRI certified organic materials (potting mix, fertilizer & pesticides) however our nursery is not certified organic. Plants are shipped in compostable peat moss pots and we use heirloom & organic seeds whenever possible.

Shipping & Returns

We ship plant orders every Monday. Due to the nature of shipping plants we only offer expedited shipping for our live plant orders. Our returns & exchanges policy is also quite strict since its hard to control the quality of a plant once it leaves our facility, however we do our very best to make sure that each and every customer is satisfied with their plants. Read more about our policies here. 

Size

All of our plants are potted in 4" pots and their foliage size varies based on how large the plant is naturally when its root ball is the correct size for the pot. If a plant is too tall for our shipping box we may prune it to fit (bonus: many plants do better after being pruned since they make bushier growth). We do our very best to ship all of our plants in the "sweet spot" of maturity however so long as the roots have colonized the pot we will consider a plant mature enough to ship.

Care Instructions

When you receive your plant its critical to get it out of its box and into the light the day it arrives. It will also want to be removed from its compostable plastic wrapping and given fresh water to drink. Keep in mind, this plant was grown in the tropical humid climate of South Florida, so if it's terribly cold or dry where you are it'll need to be hardened off before planting outdoors. Visit our care instructions page for more thorough info about caring for your new plant friend.

  • What Our Customers Have to Say:

    This is a great, local organization with really knowledgeable & friendly staff. They make gardening easy and accessible, and I've purchased many high quality plants and equipment from them.
    -Kate Black (5 star google review)

  • And Another One:

    How lucky we are to have a resource like Little River Cooperative here in Miami, not only for the access they offer to a great selection of plants and produce, but also for the knowledge they provide and the sense of community they foster!
    -Nick Vagnoni (5 star google review)