Elderberry Cultivar Performance in Illinois

Abstract

The elderberry ( Sambucus canadensis Linn.) has traditionally been a crop that is gathered from the wild and processed at home to yield pies, jellies, and wine. The fruit is rarely eaten raw by man, but can reportedly be eaten in the dried state (2). Because elderberries will tolerate low soil fertility they are frequently found growing on waste land. However, the ever-increasing use of tillable soil for crop production coupled with the use of herbicides has somewhat reduced the availability of wild sources of elderberries in certain parts of Illinois and throughout the Midwest. The possibility of growing elderberries as a fruit crop for the poorer soils of Illinois, coupled with shortages of wild sources, prompted these investigations of various elderberry cultivars for Illinois.