The Red Berried Elder is multiple stemmed and very dense making it an excellent choice for an urban shelter belt. The leaves are very dark and thus make it an excellent background contrast shrub to bring out smaller, lighter coloured perennial plants in front.

Although the flowers of the Red Berried Elder are relatively innocuous, they turn into stunning balls of tiny bright scarlet berries that stand out magnificently against the dark foliage.

Although the berries are not extremely sweet, they have a unique flavour and can be eaten right off the tree or more often, they are made into wines (elderberry wine) jams, jellies or preserves.