Sambucus nigra Korsor - Black Elder

Korsor black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is a vigorous variety that produces large sweet fruits. It is a beautiful bush that grows quickly and is easy to cultivate. Ideally, it should be planted in autumn for a harvest in September.

The black elderberry produces small round berries at the end of summer, with a black-purple colour and a diameter of about 5 mm (0.25 in). Both the berries and the flowers are edible, but they must be cooked before consumption. Whether eaten alone or combined with other fruits, these berries are delicious in jams, jellies, or syrups. As for the flowers, they can be used in fritters or infusions.

'Korsor' is a vigorous variety of Austrian origin. The flowers, in the form of white corymbs, appear around the month of May and have a pleasant fragrance. They are followed by the formation of small violet-black berries arranged in downward-facing clusters. The harvest of this variety takes place around September. It will gradually increase during the first few years and become optimal from the fifth year onwards.

The black elderberry can be found in nature at the edge of woods, in hedges or thickets, and is sometimes confused with yew, whose berries are toxic. The black elderberry is a beautiful, fast-growing, self-fertilising bush that can reach a height of 3 to 5 m (10 to 16ft). Its therapeutic properties have been known since ancient times. In the garden, you can plant it in a flowerbed, as an informal hedge, or as a standalone plant. Its tender and pithy stems, dense foliage, fragrant flowers, and black berries attract numerous insects and birds, thus promoting biodiversity in the garden. The black elderberry is a very hardy small tree with opposite, finely dentate leaves that emit an unpleasant odour when crushed. Although deciduous, its leaves are among the first to appear in spring. Add these leaves to your compost to speed up decomposition or make a liquid fertiliser to combat mildew and aphids.