For the last few years, I have been cutting off pieces of elderberry, from 1 and 2 year old wood growth, with 3 leaf nodes. I've been cutting them when the leaves are fairly well budded to fully open, but small. I make the lowest cut at an around 45 degree angle and the top cut flat. I push the cuttings into soil with the middle node just slightly below the surface. The cuttings put out shoots from both the highest node and the one just below the dirt. No rooting hormone is needed. Usually 100% of the cuttings will root. Besides keeping the dirt fairly moist, they receive no other care.

This year, I stuck 2, 2 leaf node cuttings in with the top node just barely above the ground. They out performed in growth the few 3 node cuttings I planted this year, by a lot. The difference could have been the soil I put them in, which had a lot of rabbit manure and coffee grounds, but next year I am going to try planting a lot of 2 leaf node cuttings.

The cuttings will flower and fruit, after flowering, their first year, if you don't remove the flowers. They grow better if you remove the flowers.

My main bush showed up by a down spout in 2012 or 2013. I recognized it as elderberry and decided to leave it. I ended up mowing it once and one of the dogs or one of us broke it off, at least twice, but it kept growing back. It's now roughly 14' by 16'. It gets around 60 pounds of fruited heads every year. I have sent out a few hundred clones of it and sold and given away a couple hundred rooted cuttings of it. It appears to be a naturally superior variety to the rest of the wild elderberry bushes in my area.

Beaverpeeler, Carl, donated cuttings from her to the National Germplasm Depository in Corvalis, Oregon, where they now grow her. I got to name my variety at the depository. i named my elderberry bush Remembrance after the elderberry dryad in the Hans Christian Anderson story, "The Little Elder Mother".

Keith

Do you figure I will fair as well with just regular wild cuttings or should I just try to order some?

They're just starting to ripen here. The bushes on the drier ground have fewer and smaller berries this year (a result of the hot, dry weather). Guessing they're going to be a dud... need to look in the lower, wetter places

Ours aren't quite ripe yet.Another week or two.Cant wait for my wifes elderberry cream cheese pie.

And here I was thinking I was some sort of a champion with my little bottle of rooting hormone and propagating everything I see.
Once again Carl puts me to shame!
I have two different types of blueberry cuttings (hardwood) that are still green from last winter. Like roses, the different types seem to be easier to propagate. Also tried my hand at Figs (got all 6 to take).
The fist step is admitting that I have a problem. I must have 50 different plants on my back patio (on a drip line) that I have rooted up that have no place to go and yet reading this I want to go get some elderberry!