Blue Elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) is a fruiting plant native to Western North America, ranging from British Columbia to Northern Mexico, and from Oklahoma to California. Like the black-fruited S. nigra and S. canadensis, it has the potential to be an important alternative crop. However, S. cerulea is more difficult to asexually propagate, and requirements for seed germination are not well understood. Seeds from 5 Utah selections and 2 commercial black-fruited cultivars were collected during the 2023 and 2024 harvests to determine optimum stratification requirements. No germination occurred before 12 weeks of stratification at 2°C for any genotypes tested. Optimum stratification period differed among genotypes and ranged from 18 to 24 weeks. Germination rates also varied by genotype ranging from 13% for a wild-collected population to 63% for a selection established in a common experimental orchard. Possible correlation between seed stratification requirement and other phenological development indicators (time of budbreak, bloom and fruit ripening) is still being determined. Information on propagation and climatic adaptation will be important in developing S. cerulea as an alternative crop and identifying suitable locations for commercial production.
