I tried growing elderberry bushes at my house for years. Sometimes the bushes would do very well for several years then just die. I tried planting many different varieties. I made sure I got them from a local nursery who grew them so that I knew that they would survive my winters. I have sandy soil at the house.
When I started the garden up at the college I just dug up the several varieties I had nurtured for years. Basically they were small sticks. I figured that they would last a couple of years and that would be that. I was WRONG. Instead of bushes I ended up with elder trees. One of the varieties is so tall that I can’t prune the top without a ladder. I also planted the bushes in the middle of the garden not thinking that they would grow. But I am not messing with my Elder Trees. They are like the mother guardian of the garden. One of the reason that they do so well is that they have enough water. Elders need water. The clay soil has much more nutrients that the plants can access as well as opposed to my sand soil.
The bushes send out shoots. In the beginning I just used to cut them off as they would have taken over the garden, then I started transplanting the shoots and they have done well in other places in the garden. All I do is cut them from the mother plant and stick them into the soil in the spring. I have given away many shoots. Check out other ways to propagate elders plants in garden manuals or better yet ask a gardener who has actually done it.
There is a huge interest in growing elder bushes at the moment for good reason.
The varieties that I like have the berries in a cluster that are facing the ground. I have two varieties; one that the flowers and berries are bent over and the other variety that the flowers and berries grows toward the sky. In the fall, it is much easier to harvest the berries on the smaller bush as opposed to the very tall bush where the berries are facing the sky. The birds love the berries on that bush and pluck all the ripe berries before I can pick them. I believe that the variety or strain I like is Adams. I am not sure what variety the very tall bush is.
I see that Richters: www.richters.com are selling many varieties. Make sure you check on the growing zones when you buy the bushes. Some varieties do better than others in our climate. All the varieties that I have seen have some kind of die back. Just trim the old wood and the plant comes right back.
I have noticed that elders will grow in many different environments but they seem to like to be in a field or along a hedge row between the field and the trees. I harvest the berries in the late summer and it is important to keep an eye on them as the birds also love the berries. I dry the berries for later use. I find that works for me. I have what I need on hand for the coming winter season. Many people freeze the fresh berries or make a syrup then freeze that but I find that approach too time consuming and I don’t have room in my freezer for the berries.
