Bob Gordon Elderberry vs Northern Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Bob Gordon Elderberry vs Northern Black Currant

Sambucus canadensis Bob Gordon

Ribes hudsonianum

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Bob Gordon Elderberry
Northern Black Currant

Bob Gordon Elderberry is a Black Elderberry cultivar that produces berries that are larger and sweeter than other varieties, making it one of the top cultivars. It produces large clusters of white flowers that turn into large clusters of dark purple to black berries. The berries are well-suited for baked goods, jams, jellies, and syrups. It was selected from the wild in Missouri.

The large berry clusters that the Bob Gordon Elderberry produces will often end up hanging downward. This makes it more difficult for birds to feed on the berries. If birds are a concern, this might be the right berry for you.

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 Black Elderberry or Ranch Elderberry.

Warning: the seeds, stems, leaves, roots, and uncooked berries are toxic to humans when eaten in quantity. Berries should be cooked 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.

Bob Gordon Elderberry Quick Facts

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to prostrate, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium

Toxicity: leaves, stems, and uncooked berries are poisonous to humans

Flowers: fragrant, white
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black
Berries: black, edible
Flavor: bitter
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT
Other Names: bob gordon american elderberry, bob gordon black elderberry
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant