Red Elderberry vs White Meadowsweet - TreeTime.ca

Red Elderberry vs White Meadowsweet

Sambucus racemosa

Spiraea alba

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Red Elderberry
White Meadowsweet

Red Elderberry is an attractive, medium-sized deciduous shrub.

It produces clusters of white flowers in the spring and bright red berry-like drupes, which provide beautiful contrast against its coarse, textured green foliage.

Red Elder can be pruned as a small single or multi-stemmed tree.

White Meadowsweet is a woody, deciduous shrub that begins to bloom in early summer with small white and pink flowers. Its foliage turns from a light green into an attractive golden-yellow later in the fall.

The White Meadowsweet, also known as Mead-Wort or Bride-Wort, is favored by birds and butterflies but is largely ignored by deer. They produce small brown berries in the summer, and while they are technically edible, they are not sweet and are more desired by wildlife.

Red Elderberry Quick Facts

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 4 m (13 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: high

Toxicity: toxic to humans

Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: white
Flowers: white, small
Berries: bright red berries
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: red elder
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem