Well it looks like it needs a feed, the lower leaves of my roses do the same, meaning feed me! but not sure how to look after sambucas Izzy. so wait until someone else replie. love you profile, a girl after my own heart, why after a certain age do you wake up in the morning, a month older, not a night lol hate it hate it ugh.....

LOL Patricia....I ache all over today!...and it's NOT after loads of back-breaking gardening either!

I've actually fed this plant today ...but still wondering about those markings on leaves :-((. I decided it was some deficiency because of the chlorosis, but also noticed the leaves are nibbled in places too.

Happy gardening, Patricia!

Is this the central base of the plant in the top picture, Izzy? What is the stem on the left showing a deep red stripe along it?

Yes, Bamboo, that is the central stem and the reddish stem is one of the side shoots. It's Sambucus nigra 'Thundercloud'....reddish stems? There are spent flowers on that stem.

It might just be that the lower leaves are in too much shade to retain their colour, although I'd expect them to be greener than that if that were the cause. I can see some evidence of leaf spot, but not much to worry about otherwise, no sign of damage at the base or rot. Those leaves at the base are now old in plant terms, probably getting ready to fall off. When I grew the yellow leaved version of this, I recall that by mid July it looked pretty tatty, and by early August, I'd be cutting it right back, they tend not to look great by mid to late summer.

I think you're right! I've just been out again to have a look...and it's very shaded by a Clematis montana overhead, a large fuchsia to its left, although I did cut that back to the ground in the Spring as it had so much frost damage. There's also a hydrangea invading its space to the right.

Thanks Bamboo...that is reassuring!