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reseednursery@gmail.comDeciduous Shrub • $8 to $11, quart/gallon pot
| Height | 6 to 12 feet |
| Spread | 5 ft |
| Sun Exposure | Full to Part Sun |
| Soil Moisture | Medium to Wet |
| Bloom Color | White |
| Bloom Time | June, July |
| Companion Plantings | Palm Sedge, Hoary Skullcap |
| Special Attributes |    |
Sambucus canadensis
Usually sought after for its edible berries and purported medicinal qualities, Black Elderberry is also a significant caterpillar host plant (30 butterfly and moth species can feed on this plant in the Kentuckiana area) and it draws many pollinators in early summer with its large corymbs of fuzzy white flowers. In the Eastern US this plant is relatively common, often found growing in ditches, roadsides, and along forest edges. The fruits are highly nutritious and relished by birds and small animals.
Give this plant plenty of room – it can get up to 12 feet tall and fill out to 5+ feet wide, and is very fast growing. It prefers wetter sites but can adapt to normal or even slightly dry garden conditions. Black Elderberry will naturally attempt to sucker, but these can be removed if planted in a smaller landscape. Regular winter or hard spring pruning is recommended to keep this plant in check, unless given the space to naturalize.
While the ripe berries and flowers are edible, the unripe berries, foliage, seeds, roots, and stems are toxic, fatally so in large doses. The Iroquois used the inner bark topically to relieve toothaches and in other pain-relief applications. Berries are high in antioxidants, vitamins, and even iron. Some consider this a subspecies of European Black Elderberry and thus classify it is Sambucus nigra var. canadensis.
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