How to Propagate Native Idaho Blue Elderberry Plants

Look for elderberry shrubs in areas with moist and fertile soils. Choose a planting site at home with well-drained loamy soil and good air movement.

Add organic material such as peat or manure to your planting site if your soil is sandy. Till the soil at the planting site and remove all weeds and grasses. Consider building a raised bed if your soil is heavy or poorly drained.

Take cuttings from established elderberries using a sharp knife to cut green twigs or root cuttings or suckers. Dig up suckers or young plants with a sharp shovel; keep the roots moist and cool during transport to the planting site. According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, you can also take fall cuttings from one-year-old canes and store them in a cool dark place until spring.

Set the elderberry cuttings in prepared soil with only the top pair of buds above the soil surface. Cover the roots well and settle the soil firmly around them.

Elderberry plants require about 1 inch of water per week from the time they bloom to the end of harvest. Water elderberries in the fall if your area experiences prolonged drought after harvest of the berries.

Allow elderberries to grow for two full years before pruning. Prune older elderberries in early spring, removing all dead, broken and weak canes.