Black Elderberry vs Northern Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Black Elderberry vs Northern Black Currant

Sambucus canadensis

Ribes hudsonianum

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Black Elderberry
Northern Black Currant

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 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 Quick Facts

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
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: fragrant, white and showy
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black
Berries: black, edible
Flavor: bitter
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


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