Get It Growing for 08/22/25

There’s an old saying that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. It’s a similar story for elderberries — nuisance for some, valuable crop to others.

It’s true: Elderberries do behave like weeds in many ways.

These large shrubs pop up along fences, in ditches, on vacant lots. They grow quickly, spreading with ease thanks to an extensive root system and numerous seeds. With unassuming white flower clusters, tiny berries and a scraggly growth habit, they aren’t much to look at.

And yet elderberries have their benefits. For one, their BB-sized berries are an important food source for all sorts of wildlife. They serve as a host plant for several moth species, and their plentiful flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators.

People, of course, also make use of elderberries. Jams, jellies and syrups made from the berries have become trendy in recent years. Elderflowers are edible, too, often making an appearance in drinks in the form of elderflower liqueur.

Elderberry shrubs are part of the Sambucus genus, and a few species are native to the United States. Here in Louisiana, you’ll find Sambucus canadensis.

Right now, elderberries are ripening across our state. Whether you live in the city or the country, you shouldn’t have to look far if you want to harvest some.

“Pretty much everywhere that a bird’s been, you’ll see an elderberry,” said Clark Robertson, an LSU AgCenter horticulture agent in Livingston Parish.

That’s because birds love eating elderberries. They disperse the seeds, which germinate readily, through their excrement.

Unlike birds, most humans won’t enjoy eating elderberries straight off the plant. Raw berries have an unpleasant, strong taste and can upset stomachs. People generally eat them cooked, and in this state, they have more of a blackberry flavor.

When foraging for berries, pay close attention to their color.

“You’ll want to harvest the whole inflorescence when the majority of the berries are a dark purple to black color,” Robertson said. “When you’re processing the berries, you would want to remove any green to red berries, as they could potentially be toxic.”

If you’re interested in having an elderberry shrub of your own in your home orchard, AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg suggests sticking to wild types and avoiding the black-leaved cultivars you might find at your local garden center.

“In limited trialing at the Hammond Research Station, we decided that those were not the best for our hot climate, as those have European genetics,” Stagg said.

Elderberries prefer fertile, moist — but not waterlogged — soils. They’re deciduous and can die back to the ground in severe winters, but they’ll reliably come back in the spring. They have few disease or insect pest issues and, true to their weedy tendencies, they don’t require much maintenance to grow successfully.

Plants usually reach about 10 feet tall in Louisiana and bloom multiple times in spring and summer.

“You’ll have berries ripening throughout the summer,” Robertson said.

Now — some of you are probably thinking, “I have more elderberries than I can stand! How do I get rid of them?”

To tame an elderberry infestation, chop the shrubs down and paint a stump killer containing the herbicide triclopyr onto the cuts to kill the root system. You also can keep an eye out for young elderberries, dig them up and discard them — or share them with someone who’d like to transplant them.

Learn about elderberries with LSU AgCenter horticulturists Jason Stagg and Clark Robertson.

Elderberries are large shrubs that produce tiny, dark berries. They’re a native plant and easy to come by in Louisiana. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

Elderberries grow near a fence and barn in Livingston Parish. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

Harvest elderberries when they are dark purple to black. Do not eat green or red elderberries, which are toxic. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

LSU AgCenter horticulture agent Clark Robertson holds an elderberry flower cluster. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter