Black Elderberry vs Northern Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Black Elderberry vs Northern Black Currant

Ribes hudsonianum

Sambucus canadensis

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Northern Black Currant
Black Elderberry

Northern Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub found across Canada and the northern United States. Dark purple to black berries that ripen in summer and provide food for wildlife and humans. Fragrant yellow-green flowers that attract a wide variety of pollinators.

This shrub is well adapted to moist soils and can even survive periods of flooding. It has an interesting bronze colour in fall.

Black Elderberry is a deciduous shrub native to eastern North America. You can plant this shrub in moist areas and it will help stabilize your soil. You can also use it on rural properties anywhere you'd use a lilac.

Black Elderberries are considered to be partially self-pollinating. So while they will still produce some berries without cross-pollination, planting with another variety will increase yields. Consider planting with Ranch Elderberry or Bob Gordon Elderberry.

Warning: the seeds, stems, leaves, roots, and uncooked berries of the Black Elderberry are poisonous to humans when eaten in quantity. You should cook the berries to make them safe for human consumption.

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Black Elderberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright to prostrate, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: leaves, stems, and uncooked berries are poisonous to humans
Bark: gray brownish with rigid bumps
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Flowers: fragrant, white and showy
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black, edible
Berries: black
Flavor: bitter
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT
Native to: AB, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, PE
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant
Other Names: american black elderberry, american elderberry, canada elderberry, common elderberry