Propagating Elderberry

Has anyone grown elderberry from hardwood cuttings?
I am wondering if I need two nodes (one above soil and one below), or if I can get away with having just one at the top and straight stem at the bottom.
Thank you

Sorry this doesn't answer your question directly, but I've had very good luck root layering and air layering elderberries. I've never done hardwood cuttings, but compared to other trees and bushes I've root/air layered the elderberries had a much higher success rate. They seem to be easy propagators in general...

I started a bunch of elderberry plants from hardwood cuttings and from root suckers a few months ago. When I did the hardwood cuttings, I tried to get 3-4 nice buds on each cutting, with the bottom two buds dipped in Earthjuice Rootstock gel and then put into 4-6 inch pots with a light potting soil mix. The bottom two buds should be surrounded by potting soil, with the top bud or two on each stick above the soil surface. Then I put them in my unheated greenhouse. They seem to be growing pretty well now, although the root sucker plants are much stronger and more robust-looking than the cuttings. If your cuttings don't have enough buds or don't grow, maybe you can still dig up some root suckers for new plants this spring. Root suckers are really easy to start and they grow quickly. Good luck!

I have good success with little effort: cut a 2-3 foot branch and stick it 1+ feet into loose soil or soft mud. I get better than 50% success with this...

Elder comes up like weeds in my smallholding. The birds do all the work. I dig up the saplings, cut a notch in the grass and replant. My dad used to spend ages ripping them out to preserve the traditional orchard. How times have changed!