Black Lace® Sambucus Elderberry Fruiting Trees

Sambucus Black Lace® Elderberry shrubs are a stunning development in Elderberry breeding. Intense purple black foliage is finely cut, gives this small growing tree an effect similar to that of Japanese maples. Some landscape designers are using the Black Lace in place of the more sensitive acer varieties since this cultivar is extremely durable and extremely adaptable.
The Black Lace® Elderberry is a small flowering tree that produces creamy pink flowers in spring contrasting nicely with the dark leaves. The flowers are followed by blackish red fall berries which can be harvested for making elderberry wine and jam, or left on the plant to attract birds and other wildlife.

Sambucus is very cold hardy and easy to grow, and adaptable to most sites.  Full sun is needed for the best color. This colorful shrub can be used as a dramatic accent plant, planted en masse for a trouble free tall hedge, or incorporated into the mixed or perennial border. Left alone the Sambucus Black Lace® Elderberry will reach up to 8 feet in height, but it can also be pruned back each year to fit into more formal settings.

Black Lace® Sambucus nigra 'Eva' PP15575
Planting Elderberry Trees

Growing Tips for elderberry plants:
Best in moist soil although will tolerate dry soils. Thrives under acid or alkaline soils. Best if pruned immediately after blooming. Plants set flower buds the summer prior to blooming. Best with high moisture. Deciduous shrub. Fertilize in early spring by applying a slow release fertilizer specialized for trees and shrubs. Follow the recommended rate of application.
Foliage Color: Attractive, finely cut, dark purple-black Fall Color: Remains the same color Size: 6 - 8 feet high and wide with age. Can be easily maintained as a smaller plant or trained into a small tree Exposure: Full sun for best foliage color Soil: Best in moist soil although will tolerate dry soils. Thrives under acid or alkaline soils.
Pruning:
In Zones 4 and colder it can behave like a perennial in and die back in the winter. Simply cut cut back any dead branches, as you would with a perennial. It quickly grows to form a nice plant the following spring. In Zones 5 and warmer it grows like a typical shrubs, although hard pruning every few years results in a fuller, bushier plant. Forms its flower buds in later summer and then flowers in early June. The best time to prune is it after it blooms, from mid-June to mid-August. Stop pruning in mid-August to allow time for the flower buds to form prior to winter.
Watering:
Moist soils but becomes more drought tolerant with maturity. 

Uses for Sambucus Black Lace® Elderberry Shrubs: Groupings or masses, perennial or shrub borders, specimen, screens, roadsides, naturalizing, near boggy or wet gardens.  Fruit is edible and good for jellies, pies, juice and wine. The Sambucus Black lace gets confused with a lot with folks thinking that this could be a new kind of lace leaf Japanese maple it is that showy. However, if you live to far north to grow the Japanese maples you will delight in planting this show stopper for your garden.  

According to the Humane Society of American Sambucus leaves, bark, roots, and buds can be toxic to pets. This is means that the plants are generally identified as having the capability for producing a toxic reaction.

For more information on Elderberries visit the USDA: https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_sara2.pdf 

A quick view of the Sambucus Flowering shrub:

Is the Black Lace® Elderberry perfect for your garden or landscape?