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    Sambucus canadensis (Elderberry)

    Sambucus canadensis (Elderberry)

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    Common elderberry arches outward on several stems and opens broad clusters of white flowers. It can spread by suckers and rhizomes, so give it room in moist ground with sun or light shade.

    Sun exposure for Sambucus canadensis: sun; Partial shade. Soil conditions: moist. Recorded habitats include floodplains; Thickets; Woodland edges; Marsh edges; Moist meadows. Reported height: 4 to 13 feet.

    Growth habit: several arching stems from the base; suckers and rhizomes may form small colonies. Allow space for this growth between neighboring plants over several seasons, rather than spacing only for the size of a young plant.

    Plant specifications & ecological relationships

    Key growing facts

    Sunlight Sun; Partial shade
    Soil moisture Moist
    Height 4 to 13 feet
    Bloom season July–August (Minnesota observations)

    Native landscape companions

    For partial sun / light shade and moist soil, consider these native plants alongside Sambucus canadensis:

    Companion plant Height
    Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) About 6-12 ft
    Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum) About 4-10 ft
    Dark-green Bulrush (Scirpus atrovirens) About 2½–4 ft
    Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) 1½–3 ft

    These landscape suggestions combine overlapping growing needs with documented plant associations. Match soil, seasonal wetness and mature spread to your site. Remnant records are described separately under Plant communities & associates.

    Show / hide ▾Growing & planting details
    Growth habit Several arching stems from the base; suckers and rhizomes may form small colonies
    Root form Rhizomes
    Soil pH Published cultivation guidance lists acidic, neutral soil conditions; no optimal numeric interval is established.
    Cultivation hardiness zones Zones 4a–8b (general cultivation guidance)
    Plant toxicity Poison characteristics are reported; listed parts: fruits, leaves, roots, stems. Pet safety is not established.

    Plant identification & seed reference

    Botanical name Sambucus canadensis
    Other common names elderberry; American Elder; American Elderberry; Common Elderberry; Elderberry
    Plant family Adoxaceae

    Plant characteristics

    Elderberry medium sized bush that is found mostly wet-mesic soils in sunny areas but can be grown successfully in other areas.  Nice white fragrant flowers can be seen attracting various pollinators.  Berries are known to be a delicious edible treat to Birds, mammals, and humans alike.   

  • Flower Color White
  • Flower Time June, July, August


    • Show / hide ▾Plant communities & associates

    Illinois woodland and stream communities

    Middle Fork Woods, Vermilion County (1999–2002 survey). Recorded in: dry-mesic upland forest — mature second growth; mesic ravine forest; dry upland bluff — east-facing river slope; dry upland bluff — west-facing creek slope; dry-mesic upland forest — immature second growth; perennial stream corridor.

    Dry-mesic upland forest — mature second growth — selected native associates: Carex pensylvanica, Carex rosea, Carex blanda.

    Mesic ravine forest — selected native associates: Geranium maculatum, Phlox divaricata, Asarum canadense.

    These plants share a recorded habitat; they were not necessarily found in the same small plot.

    Other documented plant associations

    These published associations show how this plant fits into natural vegetation. The region and community are identified for each list; moisture, shade and flooding can differ within a community.

    Shrubs in sugar-maple forests

    Sugar maple commercial range in eastern North America; differing forest types

    Tree and shrub associates of eastern hophornbeam

    Species-range synthesis; localities vary

    Other regional plant communities

    These plants are named with this species in published vegetation accounts. Each list keeps its community and region; some records describe a shared vegetation type rather than neighboring plants in a measured plot. They are ecological records, not a planting recipe, and may include plants unsuitable for a particular garden.

    • Small trees and shrubs in yellow-birch forests (Eastern North America; account synthesis): Betula alleghaniensis.

    Spring Bay Fen Nature Preserve — wet-mesic floodplain forest

    Surveyed in 2007, 2008 and 2011. Wet-mesic floodplain forest recorded separately from the adjoining fen. These dated records do not establish presence today.

    Other native plants recorded in this surveyed community: Acer nigrum, Acer saccharinum, Agastache nepetoides, Amorpha fruticosa, Anemone canadensis, Arisaema dracontium, Arisaema triphyllum, Blephilia hirsuta, Carex blanda, Carex emoryi.

    Murphy, Phillippe & Ebinger 2021, Appendix 1. Selected associates from the same community; records do not show immediate neighbors or prescribe planting ratios.

    Spring Bay Fen Nature Preserve — tall shrub fen

    Surveyed in 2007, 2008 and 2011. Tall shrub fen on Lena muck, recorded separately from the adjoining forest and filled upland. These dated records do not establish presence today.

    Other native plants recorded in this surveyed community: Acer saccharinum, Amorpha fruticosa, Asclepias incarnata, Blephilia hirsuta, Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, Caltha palustris, Carex hystericina, Carex stipata, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Chelone glabra.

    Murphy, Phillippe & Ebinger 2021, Appendix 1. Selected associates from the same community; records do not show immediate neighbors or prescribe planting ratios.

    Show / hide ▾Native range & C-value

    State nativity describes a broad range. Use the Chicago-region assessment for local context; a state listing does not establish county nativity.

    Wetland indicator — Corps Chicago 2017 table FAC
    C-value — Chicago region, Flora 2017 4
    Chicago-region native — Flora 2017 Yes
    Native range — U.S. states Alabama; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming
    County nativity Not yet verified; occurrence records do not establish nativity.
    Show / hide ▾Pollinators & wildlife

    Caterpillars & other plant-feeding insects

    This plant has published caterpillar host records for the butterflies and moths listed below. These are larval feeding relationships, separate from adult nectar visits. The records span a North American literature compilation and do not establish that every insect occurs locally or uses only this plant.

    Moths

    • Eacles imperialis — Imperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
    • Paralobesia viteana — American Vine Moth, Grape Berry Moth
    Show / hide ▾Frequently asked questions

    What are the ideal growing conditions for Elderberry?
    Light: Sun; Partial shade. Soil moisture: Moist.

    Is Elderberry deer and herbivore resistant?
    Species-specific deer resistance has not been verified here. Even plants described as resistant may be browsed. Use physical protection where deer damage is a concern.

    When should I expect Elderberry to bloom?
    Typical flowering period: July–August (Minnesota observations). Timing varies with location and weather.

    Show / hide ▾Sources & ecological notes

    Landscape companion selection: Natural Communities compared the growing requirements shown on these species pages with selected source records: Mesic ravine forest — East-central Illinois; Tall shrub fen — Illinois River valley. The shortlist is a planting-design inference. A shared record does not establish adjacency, identical soil requirements, local seed origin, or a tested planting combination. Regional synthesis records retain their documented focal-to-associate scope.

    Illinois woodland records: Larimore, Phillippe & Ebinger (2008), Middle Fork Woods flora, Appendix I. © 2008 University of Illinois Board of Trustees, CC BY 4.0. Habitat records transcribed, selected and linked to catalog names by Natural Communities. Survey: 1999–2002.

    Native range & ecological ratings: Flora of the Chicago Region (2017), via Universal FQA; USACE Chicago FQA (2017); Kew WCVP / Plants of the World Online.

    Growing conditions & other references: USDA Forest Service: ostvir; USDA Forest Service: sugar maple; USDA Forest Service: Betula alleghaniensis; Minnesota Wildflowers; NC State Extension Plant Toolbox.

    Wildlife records: Shropshire & Tallamy: caterpillar hosts (2025).

    Native range does not identify the origin of the seed or plants offered. Community and wildlife records apply to the locations and conditions described.

    Research notes & credits

    USACE/ERDC fqadata — Chicago Region FQA 2017. Herman, B., Sliwinski, R. & Whitaker, S. (2017), Chicago Region FQA Calculator; distributed by USACE/ERDC in fqadata under CC0. Values may differ from Flora of the Chicago Region (2017). CC0 dedication.

    Range data: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; 4 June 2026 release, accessed 7 September 2026. © The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. CC BY 3.0; selected and reformatted. Kew cannot warrant the quality or accuracy of these data. This use has no Kew endorsement.

    Caterpillar host records: Shropshire, K.J. & Tallamy, D.W. (2025), Lepidoptera of North America, Supplement 1. Contains information from this database made available under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0). Natural Communities selected species-level records and screened source qualifications. The complete selection and transformation instructions for this page are available below under the same license.

    Flora rating attribution: Kenneth Johnson (2018), Flora of the Chicago Region UFQA Database, following Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha (2017), Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Individual rating facts are presented with original commentary; the calculator’s software license is not treated as a license for the underlying Flora publication.

    Caterpillar research records

    Plant: Sambucus canadensis

    Record scope: Host literature synthesis; no county nativity or local insect occurrence inferred.

    Shropshire & Tallamy (2025) · Original research dataset · Reuse license: ODbL-1.0

    Plant names in the source Source insect record IDs
    Sambucus canadensis 204360, 209389

    How these records were selected

    To reproduce this selection, use the “UDELep May 2025” worksheet in the original research dataset.

    1. Match the insect record IDs above to column A (UDLepID). Within each table row, pair every listed insect ID with every listed source plant name.
    2. Use the first two words in column H for the insect’s scientific name, column E for its common name, and column AB for its source category.
    3. Treat the selected pairs as reported caterpillar host records. Keep all other source fields unchanged and outside this selected table. Include no other rows or host pairs.
    4. Group butterflies and skippers together, and the other categories as moths. Retain the source’s exotic-category labels and sort display names by scientific insect name.

    Growing guidance: Illinois Extension — Keeping deer out of the yard and garden. Selected facts in original wording. General deer advice is not a species resistance rating.

    Additional community records: Murphy, Phillippe & Ebinger (2021), Spring Bay Fen flora and vegetation. Selected facts and taxonomic links; source spellings and historical survey dates retained.

    Plant Shipping & Care

    We want to ensure that our customers get what they want, a native backyard oasis. To do that, we need to follow a few simple guidelines and give you some information and pointers to make sure you get your plants delivered in a healthy state.

    As a reminder, you will receive an email to confirm your pickup or shipping window just before the plants are ready. See Order Fulfillment below for seasonal fulfillment windows.

     

    Choices to Receive Your Plants & Accessories

    • Website orders: Seed, plugs and bare-root plants offered for shipping are shipped to your address. Shipping charges are calculated at checkout.
    • Container trees and shrubs: Some #3 and #5 container options are offered for scheduled pickup only. Check the selected product option and the cart pickup instructions before ordering. Pickup and shipped items require separate orders where indicated in the cart.
    • Wholesale orders: Delivery and pickup are arranged separately according to the order, supplier yard and location. Wholesale pickup is free.
    • Pickup locations and dates are confirmed by email. Please wait for confirmation before traveling to a pickup site. Our offices are not retail stores or nursery pickup locations.

     

    Order Fulfilment - When Your Plants or Other Items Will Be Ready

    We take orders all year long and seed is shipped all year, but we only provide the plants to you in certain fulfillment windows to ensure healthy plants.

    Wholesale Orders

    • Shipped or are Ready For Pick Up As Requested.

     

    Retail & Website Orders

    • Seed Typically Ships Out Within One Week Of Order All Year Long
    • Typically, single species flats ship when ready, sometimes as soon as early to mid-April (depends on weather) through early-October.
    • Mixed species kits are batched and shipped as indicated on the product page.
    • If a plant order is placed while outside of the plant fulfillment window your plants will be reserved through your payment, however, the order will not be fulfilled and shipped until the following spring. We don't want to provide you plants when they won't be happy during the cold winter months. 
    • Early in the spring and later in the fall certain species may be dormant or partially dormant with brown leaves, however they will return to grow healthy next growing season.
    • Your order may arrive in several different shipments.
    • If certain plants within an order will not be available until a later date, we may choose to hold the full order until all are ready.  In certain circumstances, we may choose to send them in two separate shipments 
    • Fulfillment is always dependent upon plant availability.  We try our best but sometimes plants do not overwinter well and perish.  If a plant is on back order you will receive an email indicating the estimated shipping date.  If we can not provide the plant we will first notify you and give you an option of substitution or a refund of that individual species.
    • Plants are typically only packaged and shipped on Mondays to ensure they do not sit in the harsh delivery facility for extended periods of time over the weekend. You will receive a confirmation email once your delivery has been shipped and to estimate your delivery date.
    • Apparel & accessories are ready typically within one to two weeks. See product page for holiday shipping.

    Where We Ship

     

     

          What to Expect When Receiving Your Delivery

          • Your plants will be packaged with the utmost care
          • We will need to cut back certain plants prior to shipping. This seems counter-intuitive, however, the fewer leaves the less water the plants can lose during shipping, resulting in healthier plants for you. This also enables the plants to fit within the protective packaging and shipped safely.

           

             Shipments

            • Larger plant shipments will look similar to the picture below with a tray of your plants and a cardboard box to protect them during shipping.

             

             

            What to Do With Your Plants After  Receiving Your Delivery

            • Unpack your order IMMEDIATELY
            • Inspect for damage and report any issues immediately to Natives@NaturalCommunities.net
            • Water your plants
            • Install your plants as quickly as possible and water the entire garden area thoroughly
            • If you cannot install your plants immediately
              • Some plants may not be in a container, put them into some kind of a container such as a paper cup with loose soil until installation
              • Make sure each plant is receiving the appropriate amount of light.
              • Continue to water daily each morning and possibly again in the afternoon
              • No additional fertilizer is needed
            How to install native plugs
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