Where to plant Sambuca Nigra?

Found this on the BBC Gardening site , hope it helps

One of a number of ornamental varieties bred from our native elder, 'Black Lace' makes a striking plant for the back of the border. It has very finely cut, almost black foliage, which is the perfect foil to the pink-flushed blooms. It will grow almost anywhere, including difficult conditions such as waterlogged or very chalky ground. In autumn, leaves turn rich red. To produce the best coloured leaves, prune plants back to ground level every year in early spring.

We have one of these in our garden, for the first year it didnt do much ,so we moved to an east facing wall and it took off, it grew 5 foot last year and we had to cut it back by half. so that it wouldnt break in the wind,as we hadnt got a cane long enough...lovely plant, a picture when the pink blooms come out

It hates being too dry and warm. I lost my first one due to wrong position, the 'new' one is thriving in a more shaded and damp position. I would not cut it back too hard at first, though, let it get a foothold!

Sambucus should be planted in good rich composted soil as they can be quite greedy.They require regular watering and should be planted away from harsh windy conditions to avoid the leaves suffering from windburn. They appear to be quite tough however.
It is sending out masses of buds early February this year(2008.)
I prune ours when the leaves have dropped in autumn as they can put on a lot of growth in one season, although I have also done some light pruning during the summer as well just to keep a good shape to the plant. It is now almost 8 feet tall after 4 years, and I will need to keep its height in check by cutting out some of the top growth as well.

I'm no expert. But I can tell you that I live at the edge of a VERY windy moorland in Yorkshire, just below the treeline. I planted a quite small specimen of sambuca last November. Not only has it withstood the viscious winds, it has also doubled in size. Many other shrubs that I planted up here have just withered with windburn and faded. Haven't had any flowers yet, but even if it doesn't flower, it's still a very lovely shrub.

I notice that some advice says to cut this shrub down to the ground each spring. Is this necessary and what would the likely growth rate be to say, the middle of June?

Well, I wouldn't do that to mine! I just keep it to the shape and the size I want.

I love the contrast between the black leaves and the pink flowers - and if you cut it to the ground, I reckon you'd lose that year's flowers.

I think they'll put up with a lot. I garden on clay soil and mine seems quite happy. My garden faces west and it's growing on the shady side of the garden. It is quite windy where I am but it's as protected as it can be. I thought I'd lost in in the snows this winter (it disappeared bar one lone stick) but it's come back bigger than ever.

I'm going to have to prune it soon as it's gone beserk but am a bit nervous about when to do it - when's the best time?

Bolton lass, if you prune it after it's flowered (it'll be flowering now!) you'll get to see its lovely flowers but you'll lose the berries that follow them.
You can be brutal with these plants because they grow several feet each year.

I have some and the soil here is dreadful impoverished, dry soil, it's also a very windy site so there's no moisture retained in any of the soil here and it flourishes !

Thanks Louise - brutal is good, especially if my husband goes near it!