Sambucus ' Black Lace '

I want one of these Amy, love the dark foilage and pink flowers!

I've only just come home with it Carole , it's to replace the Pittosporum we had to take out , I hope it grows quickly because there's a big gap to fill , I bought a cheap Ribes as well to fill in , I thought that the red from the ribes and the black would go well together when they get bigger .... :o)

Sounds perfect Amy, I have still to take out a Pittosporum not qiute sure what I will replace it with, fancy a small standard Apple Tree as i havent any fruit apart from my strawberries!

Your wish will be granted. These grow extremely quickly and unless you have lots of room you will soon be sorry you planted it.

A small Appe tree would be nice Carol , they do quite a few now some have as many as 3 different apples growing on the !

Toto , are you trying to frighten me .. LOL... I love using the loppers and saw ... It won't dare get to big .. :o))

I have some of these, and they do indeed grow quickly, but they're so gorgeous you'll be glad you bought it :-))
You can prune these back to the ground, if you wish, each year, because they make massive growth each season/year - several feet.

One of mine i leave to do its own thing and the other i cut back hard each year.
I love 'em !!!

Thanks for that Louise , I'm pleased you have said I can cut it back as much as I want , I have a large gap for it but I still want it to stay a decent shape .. :o)

'Play' with it Amy and you'll see how easy it is :-)

I will Louise ... thanks ....

lovely amy, cant wait to see it flower ;o))

very veryyyyyyyyy nice

I'm not sure if I have missed it for this year San . I think I have !

Thanks Eileen :o)

flowers early then amy!

Amy this is a smashing plant, we prune ours back to keep it looking good.

I have this too Amy only just coming into leaf, doesn't flower till around June so you should see some flowers :-) lovely pink ones.

Thanks for your comments everyone , I will feel happy keeping it pruned back .
On the ticket with the plant it says ... clustered pink flowers in spring ........flowers from April to May , as the shrub is new and not very big I think it may take a year to produce flowers , it will be interesting to see , If It has any I will let you know .. :o) ..

Hopefully if they are as late as June Kathy I might be lucky .. !

Mine doesn't flower until summer, Amy, and I chop it back quite severely after the birds have got the berries. it is in a container and still grows well. ;-)

Well it sounds as if I might have some flowers after all David , there dosn't seem to be an exact time , It looks as if the birds could be a problem , do you think they will share the berries with me ? as I like to make Sambuca juice for winter colds with them ...... :o)

The pink flowers against the dark leaves does make a nice contrast.

I'm looking forward to that Dawn .....

Do you have Sambucus racemosa Sutherland Gold too, Amy.

I don't Dawn , we have so many Sambucus growing in the hedgrows and fields it didn't occur to me to grow them in the garden ... silly isn't it ..:o)

I'd be surprised if you don't get any flowers this year.The berries from these "ornamental" varieties are edible, Amy, but smaller and much more bitter than those from the native wild elder. Still, try these for your Sambucus juice, which I've seen on GOY and always meant to try. :-))

I think the ornamental ones are great. I have the ordinary yellow elders but still like them.

Thanks for that info .David I think I will stick to the native wild elder for my juice I wouldn't like it too bitter ....