Elderberry

my gold leaf elderberry has a branch growing in the wrong directs that needs pruning out so I want to try rooting it. When's the best time to try rooting it?

I can't believe that you got no response. This fall a neighbour was trimming a purple lace leaf elderberry and I took some cuttings. I dipped the cuttings in hormone powder and put them in potting soil. I put the pot in a clear garbage bag and left it outside but in bright shade. Within a few short weeks there was an abundance of roots coming out the bottom of the pot. I think that they are very easy to root at any time of year.
Robert

Thanks for the reply. Sorry so long in responding. My subscription expired and I'm just now getting around to renewing.

P

Thanks, zone. I was following this thread waiting for a reply. I figured you could prop them like you did. So, now I'm sure. I have a couple of purple EBs that I want to prop also.

My cuttings probably failed because I just stuck them in the ground next to the mother plant then we had one of the worst summers in my memory.

I have the cuttings that I started in the fall underlights in the basement. As the plants have stretched I have cut them back and put those cuttings in water. These cuttinge have rooted easily also.
Robb

I'll try some cuttings in water

I attended a sustainability conference where an elderberry grower gave one of the talks. His recommendation for the most certain successful propagation is to take cuttings when the sap is dormant, but since elderberries root easily, other times work pretty good too.

I have 15-16 cuttings I took several weeks ago, in a tented pan on a windowsill. The buds now have tiny leaves emerging but I'm not ready to poke around for roots yet! It's too cold to be put outside right now anyway.

mine has just started to leaf out. Have I waited too long?

Probably not. Elderberries root easily from softwood cuttings too. You just have to remove all but 3 leaves, and if those leaves are already large, cut them in half so the cutting isn't stressed by trying to put out roots AND feed the leaves. I find a mix of half sand and half compost makes a good medium for rooting.

OK,thanks

Good info, Darius. Thanks. What all do you grow up there in the Apps?

I had been growing rather traditional garden veggies for several years but I'm moving to edible food forest gardening. I'm combining fruits and nuts (trees, shrubs, vines and roots) with perennial vegetables and a few annual vegetables interspersed. Most of my stock is young, about 3-4 years, and now I'm trying to increase varieties as money permits, plus propagate more of what I have. So far my project is on the meager side!

Here are the elderberry cuttings I took on Feb. 15, kept them in water to Feb. 17 when I dipped then in rooting hormone and stuck them in a mix of half sand and half potting soil. They were placed in a trash bag to act as a tent to hold in moisture, but today the leaves were pushing against the plastic so I took them out. 34 days! I can see lots of roots along the sides of the plastic bin.

I think elderberries are some of the easiest shrubs to root. Makes me feel like I know what I'm doing. :)