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Elderberry (Sambucus) has been known as a remedy for many centuries. Its berries are extremely rich in vitamins and therefore very healthy. The elder bush also played a major role in people's mythology and superstitions. Once you have it in the garden, you have to be careful that the elderberry bush does not take over the entire garden area. Removing elderberry is not that easy. Below are a few ways you can banish the shrub from the garden in the long term.
Elder grows everywhere
An elder grows very quickly and can be found almost everywhere, whether in lowland forests, gardens or on rubble dumps. It mostly grows as a shrub, but also as a small tree. Such an elderberry bush can easily reach a height of up to 11 meters and become up to 100 years old. It can also spread rapidly in the garden and overgrow the entire garden area. Removing elderberry is not exactly easy. Sometimes it takes a lot of strength and patience.
Notice: The leaves, bark, seeds and unripe berries contain slightly toxic glycosides. They can cause indigestion, stomach upset, diarrhea and vomiting.
The Sambucus is one of the flat-rooted plants. The roots spread out in the shape of a plate in the upper layer of soil. They grow horizontally around the shoot axes in the ground and can reach an immense radius. With increasing age, the growth in thickness also increases and the roots can protrude from the ground. Young, not fully developed bushes up to the age of three years can still be easily removed. Sometimes they can simply be pulled out by hand if the soil is damp. With older specimens, removing them from the garden can be a little more difficult and time-consuming. There are various means and methods for this:
saw off the bush
Surely this is the easiest method. However, a lot of patience is required here, because the elderberry has enormous growth potential and also buds again and again. It is then important that every new shoot is removed immediately. It sometimes takes three to four years or longer until the elderberry bush gives up its fight and finally dies. This method is useful when Sambucus is close to buildings, walls, or fences where other removal measures are difficult.
Pond liner & Co
Black, impermeable pond liner or a special weed fleece can also be used. This method also requires some patience. After a year, tender new shoots can still grow, which always have to be removed. However, the elderberry bush will give up if it is deprived of light and water for a long time. However, it will also take a few years here. Proceed as follows:
- Remove branches close to the ground
- Expose rootstock
- Saw this off up to 10 cm below the ground
- then tightly covered with foil
- a thick layer of bark mulch on top
Use of a stump grinder helpful
Source: Charles & Hudson, Husqvarna SG13 stump grinder, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
Another method of removing an elder bush can be to use a stump grinder. It is easy to use, but quite heavy at around 130 kg. The tiller is powered by a motor. The roots are finely chipped with the help of a milling head. Machining can take place down to a floor depth of 25 centimetres. In the end, all that remains is loose soil enriched with fine wood chips.
Excavating most successful method
In order to permanently remove an elderberry, digging it up promises the best results. However, this method requires a lot of strength and sweat will flow, but in the end the elder is successfully banished from the garden. It is important that each individual root, no matter how small, is carefully removed over a large area. Only then does a new shoot of the shrub have no chance. Alternatively, the rootstock can also be removed using a pull rope or pulley block.
Stump Ex and Root Gone Granules
Of course, it is easier to remove the rootstock in the ground using special tools that are available from specialist retailers. These include "Baumstump-Ex" or the granules "Root gone". Both agents are harmless to the environment and other plants. In the soil, they act like fertilizer. The application is also quite simple:
- Cut branches close to the ground
- Depending on the size of the tree stump or branches, 10 to 20 holes are required
- drill these laterally and on the surface
- Depth eight centimeters
- Fill in the granules and cover
Protective gloves should be worn when applying the agent. It takes about three to twelve months for branches, stump and roots to decay. The leftovers can then safely be disposed of in the compost.
Glyphosate extremely questionable
Last but not least, the use of other chemical preparations should be briefly mentioned. Many hobby gardeners swear by the use of glyphosate in the form of "Roundup" when removing an elderberry bush. This preparation should be applied undiluted to the cut surfaces, one meter high branches with a brush. An effect can be seen after just a few days. However, glyphosate is a total herbicide that is also used in agriculture and is extremely controversial there. The agent must be used carefully, otherwise surrounding plants and, above all, organisms living in the soil can be damaged. Sometimes a certificate of competence is required.
There are also chemical preparations that are based on sodium and magnesium nitrate. Such compounds are also used in fireworks. The application is not exactly safe. These funds must be mixed with petroleum and then filled into pre-drilled holes in the rootstock and finally ignited. The root burns inside and the bush has no strength to grow again.
However, we would like to advise against the use of such means at this point. They damage the environment and last but not least your own health. Even if it is exhausting to completely dig up an elder in order to permanently remove it from the garden, this method is extremely promising and at the same time you stay fit.
Note: Some hobby gardeners swear by the use of copper nails. Whether this method is helpful, however, remains questionable.