I don't know the differnce for the reds, but much of the price is likely due to marketing.

You see the same for black elderberries, aronia, etc., depending on whether they are marketed for eating or naturalizing (sometimes with widely different prices even for the same plants in the same catalog)

They are the same plant, names are synonyms. As for the price difference, were your 10 for $10 bareroot or in small containers vs the expensive ones in larger containers?

A word of caution. Since you are posting on the edible landscape forum, I assume you plan to eat the elderberries, not just grow them for landscaping or for the birds. Red elderberry is poisonous for humans and should not be eaten. For human consumption you need the black elderberry, Sambucus canadensis.

Everyone recomends the black elderberry , S. canadensis , for eating , but I grew up in Idaho , and I prefer the blue elderberry , S.caerulea .
I have the black ones , and tried to grow the blue , but they died .Probably the wrong type of soil here .
The red ones grow all over west Oregon , and ARE lovely when covered with fruit .
I've never tried growing one of them .
Marian

One Green World and Raintree list the Red Elderberries as good for jelly and state they must be boiled before eating. I really just planted them for the birds and because I saw pictures of them in those catalogs and thought they were stunning. I posted my questions here on Edible Landscaping because I thought folks here would be most kwowledgable about Elderberries. Thank you all for answering my question.

I have European Black elderberries now also and I am interested in trying Blue Elderberry, S. caerula next year. I am thinking of a spot in full sun that I could dump lots of compost in the then mulch heavily to keep the roots moist.

anyone got a recipe for making jelly out of red elderberries?

I made red elderberry jelly back in the early 1970's using a commercial pectin recipe. I think elderberry was actually listed in the instructions. It is best to use the isopropyl alchohol test on the raw juice to determine its natural pectin content, then you can adjust the commercial recipe accordingly, or experiment with small batches. My jelly tasted awful with the same acrid taste as the raw berry. I gave it to a friend who claimed it was delicious. Perhaps if it were loaded up with lemon juice it would be OK.

So, does that mean that the Cultivar 'Sutherland Gold', which One Green World lists as S. racemosa, will be pollinated by the native red elderberry S. pubens I planted?

Some places say our native North American Red Elderbery is S. pubens and that S. racemosa is European Red Elderberry. But other places list one as subspecies of another. So confusing.

For instance if you click on the following link the Article states that S. racemosa is a European red elder. Whats the clear scoop? I would like to get a 'Sutherland Gold' but only if I can have it set berries, foliage alone is not enough for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: An overview of Sambucus

Finialllly found this info on the web (copied below) that explained about Red Elderberry, racemosa and pubens, in a way I could understand.

Sambucus racemosa is the designation of a circumboreal species. The American plants are considered as subspecies pubens by many authorities, but others believe they should be recognized as a separate species and use the designation Sambucus pubens.

Well, I ordered the Blue Elderberry S. caerulea from Raintree Nursery for Fall shipping. I decided that I am also going to get a 'Sutherland Gold' S. racemosa and will mail order next spring if I can't find locally this Fall.

The Red Elderberries I planted last year have bloom clusters already. Its still pretty cold and they are not open yet but deffinately there. My S. nigra black elderberies barely have green leaf buds coming out.

The only one of my Elderberries to flower and fruit this year were my Red Elderberry. I was surprised at how small the fruit actually is, somehow I thought it would be bigger. Still, I left the fruit for birds to eat.

I did not have much luck with Blue Elderberry. I put in three plants last Fall. Only two made it thru the Winter. Then, one of the two surviving plants had all the nice new green growth just wilt right up afew days ago. I don't know whats up with them.

All my other Elderberries are growing well. So now I only have one small Blue Elderberry left that isn't growing much.

What is the difference between S. racemosa and S. racemosa ssp. pubens? Are the S. pubens elderberries just shorter?
It seems like I also saw something about them having loose flower clusters, too. So does that mean that the berries are farther apart than on S. racemosa?

Thanks,
Sharon

I have some wild Red Elderberries. I planted some S. canadensis but they shrivelled and died back for no reason.

I have seen thousands of Red Elder bushes in New Hampshire. I have seen only 2 wild Black Elders. So obviously the Red Elder is much more suitable for naturalizing or for planting in a woodland.

The Audubon Field Guide claims that common Black Elder can grow 16' tall and 6" in diameter. I find that very hard to believe. Certainly that has never happened in New Hampshire.

I have seen Red Elder about 15' tall and perhaps 5" in diameter. I think Red Elder is the largest Elder species.

I have a blue elderberry that is 15' tall and wide. It is bearing fruit so high now I can't pick much. I also have the red elderberry growing wild in my woods. They must be well adapted here because we get no rain all summer and I don't water them. I planted some of the Canadensis elderberries too but they are still small so I don't know how much fruit I get. One variety named York was planted at the same time as the S. caerula, but is only 5' tall. It does get some fruit. So the blue elderberry really takes off here. We have much milder winters than the NE USA, maybe that's why.

My red elderberries are going to bloom like crazy this year. I wish I could get as much flowering and fruiting from my s. nigra elderberries.

Does anybody know if it is OK to make fritters from red elderberry flowers? I know the fruit shouldn't be eaten without boiling, but how about the flowers?

Found following note on internet. Sorry did not jot down the source, but according to the following there is a difference in the chemical makeup of the common red elderberry (S. canadensis) and S. pubens. If you are planning to make red elderberry jam, sounds like you need to be sure of which variety of red elderberry that you have!

NOTE: Elderberries must never be eaten raw. All parts of the plant contain the toxin hydrocyanic acid which is destroyed by cooking. Red elderberry (S. pubens) is considered poisonous and should not be used at all since cooking does not destroy enough of the toxin.

I'm particularly fond of Mexican Elder. The powder blue berries taste way better than those of S. canadensis.

I think Sharon's advice on edibility is overly cautious. Berries of all species, including red elder, have been eaten raw for thousands of years (check out Native American Ethnobotany). It's true that much of the literature calls the red-berried species toxic, and discourages eating any other plant parts from any species, but elder flowers are also completely edible.

I believe it is totally safe to eat any blue or black species raw (I've done it many many times), and avoid any red species, or at least be sure of what you have, and then cook the berries first. The truth though, is that no modern human would ever really eat that many raw elderberries in one sitting: the fresh taste is simply not conducive to that.

Red elderberries still are not edible. People used to use them as a detergent for washing. They are simply not worth eating, in my opinion.