Plant Profile: Blue Elderberry

Earlier this week, I wrote about Sacramento's Gardens Gone Native garden tour and shared a few benefits of converting our exotic landscapes to natives.  Now, we continue the celebration of California Native Plant Week (the third week in April) by highlighting a plant that is one of my favorites - and a favorite among birds as well - Blue Elderberry!


Blue Elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea, formerly S. mexicana) is an excellent plant for a wildlife garden.  In the spring and early summer, it is covered in umbels of creamy white to buttery yellow flowers that are savored by butterflies.  By late summer, the flowers give way to clusters of dark blue berries which are relished by an array of bird species, including migratory species passing through and resident songbirds.  Blue Elderberry is also the only host plant of the Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus), a Federally Threatened species.

Along with Toyon, Blue Elderberry is one of the most valuable plants you can grow for wildlife! 


In the Great Central Valley, Blue Elderberry is associated with Valley Oak woodlands as well as mixed riparian forests, growing on the sandy and loamy soils of floodplains.  It has the ability to attain a mature size of up to 30 feet tall and wide, but can be trained (or pruned) from its shrubby form into a small multi-stemmed tree. 


I envision a Blue Elderberry specimen, trained into a multi-stemmed tree, as the focal point for a backyard habitat garden.  By tucking an elderberry into the corner of the yard and underplanting with mugwort, goldenrod, milkweed, and Red Thistle, maybe even grouping it with Toyon, California Rose and Coyote Brush if space allows, one could create a wild mini-habitat ideal for birds and butterflies.  (These species are ideal for the Central Valley; check Audubon's Native Plants Database and the National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder to find plants that are appropriate for the wildlife in your area.)

As we wrap up California Native Plant Week and get ready to observe Earth Day this weekend, be sure to get outside, enjoy the beautiful spring weather and celebrate the native plants in your life!

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