Elderberry · London, England, United Kingdom
When to plant elderberries in London
Main outdoor window
19 Nov - 31 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
14 April
In London, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Aug - 30 Sep
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in London
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the shrub
19 Nov - 31 Mar
Any time the plant is dormant and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged: after leaf fall in autumn, or at the end of winter before growth restarts.
Harvest
1 Aug - 30 Sep
Elderberries through the year
Against the frost risk in London
Why these dates
Elderberries are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in London is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.
London sits in zone 9a, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 2, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in London
Other fruits to time
Growing elderberries in London
When should I plant elderberries in London?
Aim for 19 Nov - 31 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 31 Oct - 21 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will elderberries be ready to harvest in London?
Expect to start picking around 1 Aug - 30 Sep, based on 80 to 100 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.