Adding plants to your home is one of the easiest ways to liven up your living space Not only do indoor plants add visual interest, but they can also improve air quality, boost mood, and provide health benefits One excellent plant choice for indoor hanging is the American elderberry shrub. With its vibrant green foliage, delicate white blooms, and immune-boosting berries, this versatile shrub is sure to freshen up any room. In this article, we’ll explore why American elderberry makes an ideal indoor hanging plant and provide tips on care and display.
Why Choose American Elderberry?
Native across most of North America, American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is a deciduous shrub that thrives in temperate climates. Growing up to 12 feet tall and wide, it can be pruned to form a small tree or bush. The shrub produces clusters of tiny white flowers in spring, followed by deep purple berries in summer and fall.
Beyond its ornamental qualities, American elderberry offers some great benefits
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Air purification – All plants absorb CO2 and release oxygen, but American elderberry is particularly effective at removing pollutants like formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene from indoor air This can greatly improve air quality and respiratory health.
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Immune support – American elderberry is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and other compounds that are thought to boost immune function and help fight colds, flu, and inflammation.
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Pollinator friendly – The flowers provide an excellent food source for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinating insects.
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Wildlife appeal – Many birds find elderberries irresistible, so hanging a shrub near a window can provide fun wildlife viewing opportunities.
Caring for a Hanging American Elderberry
Though relatively low maintenance, American elderberry does require some specialized care when grown as a houseplant. Follow these tips for success:
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Light – American elderberry thrives in bright, indirect light. East or west-facing windows are ideal. Direct southern exposure may scorch the leaves.
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Water – Keep the soil consistently moist but not soggy. Water whenever the top inch becomes dry. Mist the leaves occasionally to boost humidity.
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Temperature – Prefers daytime temperatures of 60-75°F and nights above 50°F. Avoid drafty areas.
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Fertilizer – Feed monthly during spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength.
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Pruning – Trim back wayward or leggy growth in late winter to maintain shape. Remove any dead or diseased stems.
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Pest control – Watch for common houseplant pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and aphids. Wipe leaves regularly and hose down the plant to prevent infestations.
Creative Ways to Display Your Hanging American Elderberry
One of the joys of incorporating hanging plants into your home is finding fun ways to show them off. Here are some creative display ideas for your American elderberry:
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Hang it in a colorful macrame plant holder for a boho-chic look.
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Place the shrub in a rustic wooden basket mounted to the ceiling for farmhouse appeal.
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Display on a multi-tiered plant stand alongside other trailing greenery.
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Let it cascade over the edges of a wall-mounted shelf or floating cabinet.
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Group with air plants, ferns, and vines in glass terrariums hung in a bright window.
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Install sturdy ceiling hooks above a seating area to suspend the shrub as a living chandelier.
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Hang near a desk or reading nook so you can appreciate the details up close.
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Position above an entryway or hallway to greet guests with natural beauty.
Bring the Outdoors In
Hanging houseplants like American elderberry are gorgeous additions that can really elevate your interior design. This hardy, low-maintenance shrub filters indoor air, provides immune-supporting antioxidants, and looks absolutely lovely trailing from a planter or basket. Get creative with displaying your American elderberry in any room to bring the revitalizing essence of nature right into your living space.
Something to keep in mind:
I see many people on social media saying stuff like “I want an elderberry bush!” or “I would love to grow an elderberry plant in my veggie garden.” I appreciate growing elderberries, too, but please realize that elderberries grow into very large, multi-stemmed, suckering shrubs. In other words, they won’t remain a tidy little bush in the corner of your 200 square foot garden plot. If you plant them in your raised bed, they are vigorous enough to fill the entire thing. Over time, they have been known to form a dense thicket. And also, because they produce better with cross-pollination, you are best off planting two. Keep this in mind, and only plant elderberries if you have the space to accommodate them.
Planting Bare Roots—When planting bare roots, hydrate your roots in a bucket of water while you are getting your site prepped for planting. I soak mine no longer than a couple hours. Prepare the site you will be planting them by removing any grass, weeds, or other plants that might compete for energy and resources, and then dig a hole, at least twice as wide as the bare roots. I amend the hole with some compost and a good handful of Espoma HollyTone fertilizer. HollyTone works really well for shrubs, berries, and plants that prefer a slightly more acidic situation. When you place your bare roots in the hole, be sure to separate the roots and spread them out a bit. Backfill the hole around the roots and tamp the soil down. Water them in thoroughly, to ensure no air pockets remain around the roots, and then mulch.
Plant in Full Sun to Part Sun—While elderberries will tolerate some shade, they will grow faster in sun. If you are growing one of the ornamental elderberries with black foliage, like Black Lace or Black Beauty Elderberry, they will hold their black foliage better if you plant them in a Part Shade spot. I grew these in full sun at our last house and the foliage faded to more of a green with dark leaf margins.
Water Regularly—Elderberries aren’t real fussy about soil, but they do like plenty of water. In fact, I had some really rocky dirt where I planted them at the last house. As long as I kept that lousy patch they were planted in well-watered, they were happy!
Pruning will Help Them Thrive—Do not prune until after the 2nd growing season has finished—then remove old, weak, or 3 year old canes. The best time to prune is in early spring, before the plants break dormancy. This is important. My in-laws have a dwindling elderberry hedge around their house. It has been in place for over 25 years—thriving for many of them. But they didn’t realize that elderberries needed pruning to perform their best. Pruning encourages new growth and allows space and energy for more fruitful canes.
Use Physical Barriers to Provide Protection from Critters
Protect your elderberries from deer, at least until the plants are a couple years old and established. Despite being widely advertised as “deer resistant”, my deer like to nibble the tender new growth whenever possible. Therefore, to give elderberries the best start, I cage or fence my plants until they are established.
If you are growing elderberry as a food crop and want to get berries, you will need to protect the developing fruit from the birds, using netting for the whole plant or by bagging the clusters of berries. Birds love the fruit and will eat them all on a smaller, less established plant if you let them.
Destined to be made into winter’s medicine.
Because I am only familiar with American Elderberries, I can only speak as to their preparation here.
I haven’t even fully explored the realm of possibilities when it comes to using the fruit, but one thing I have learned, is that the fruit freezes well. I allow the birds to get most of the fruit, but I do like to freeze some berries in freezer bags to keep on hand. I also find it easiest to get the berries off the stems if I first freeze the clusters on a cookie sheet. Then, once they are frozen,the berries seem to release from the stems much easier. You can transfer the frozen clusters of berries to a brown paper bag, and shake like crazy. This will free many berries, but you will still likely have to sit and pick some from the stems.
Do not eat the stems, leaves, bark, or unripe berries of Elders—they are all toxic.
Some folks still are in a bit of a quandary over whether or not the ripe, raw, uncooked elderberries are also toxic. HERE is an article addressing this. As I pick elderberries, I have been known to toss back a few ripe, uncooked berries, and have had no ill effects. Only do what you feel comfortable doing, however, and if you have any doubts whatsoever about eating the berries uncooked—just don’t do it! Err on the side of caution and cook them first!
Elderberries are excellent for making an immune-boosting syrup. There are all sorts of recipes online for Elderberries Syrups and Tonics, but we like to keep things simple and make ours with just elderberries, water, and honey, simmered, reduced, and strained to our desired consistency. Sometimes I’ll put in a stick of cinnamon. Many recipes call for ginger and other spices, but Hunter can hardly handle the elderberry syrup, as is, so we avoid all the extra frills. The prepared syrup does not store long enough for my liking, especially since the elderberries are ripe in about August, and cold & flu season doesn’t strike until winter. So I have learned that I can store my syrup in a glass jar in the freezer to extend it’s shelf life. Alternately, you can keep some elderberries in a freezer bag in your freezer, and simply make a batch at a later date. Can’t stand the thought of swallowing a sweet syrup? Make some immune-boosting gummies instead!
Planting Elderberries in My Garden! // Garden Answer
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