Photo: Robert H. Mohlenbrock. USDA SCS — Public domain · source
Survives zone 3 through 9
⚠ Elder MUST BE COOKED (raw berries/leaves/stems toxic). Highbush cranberry musty when overripe — pick slightly under and cook.
- Hardiness
- Zone 3 to 9
- Habit
- Shrub
- Edible part
- Leaf, Fruit
- Ripens
- Aug–Sept
- Mature size
- Shrub 2–4 m; containerable when young
- Light
- Full sun to partial
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.0
- Environment
- Temperate
- Status
- Both wild and cultivated
- Years to fruit
- 2–3 yrs
- Pollination
- Self-fertile but BETTER WITH A PARTNER — plant 2 cultivars
Growing guide
Fertilizing. Low feeding needs; tolerates poor, dry, and clay soils without supplemental fertilizer, though a spring compost mulch or balanced fertilizer can help young plants establish.
How it spreads. A suckering shrub that can form thickets as it matures, though it spreads at a slow to moderate rate.
Growing tips. No serious pest or disease problems. Flowers form on old wood, so prune immediately after flowering to avoid removing next year's blooms. Notably tolerant of black walnut (juglone) toxicity, a rare trait that makes it usable near black walnut trees.