Golden Tower Elder Trees

Sambucus nigra 'Golden Tower' Elder Shrubs, 2 Litre Pots

Sambucus nigra ‘Golden Tower’ is a deciduous shrub with golden yellow leaves and a particularly narrow, upright habit. In early summer it bears frothy, flattened heads of tiny, white, musk-scented flowers. 

Elders are wonderfully tolerant and versatile shrubs which can be grown in a wide range of situations. The slim, columnar form and bright colour of this variety gives it a striking, architectural quality. It is equally effective both as a standalone specimen or mixed through a border. 

Tolerant of pollution, salt, and wind, and untroubled by deer, elder suits a vast range of situations. Like all elder, the leaves of Sambucus nigra ‘Golden Tower’ are deeply cut and almost lace-like, and maintain their luminous, golden yellow colouring from spring to autumn.
Summer sees first flowers, followed by round, glossy back fruit.

Being narrower than most varieties, this intriguing new cultivar comes highly recommended where space is more limited. It is hard to think of a better plant for adding a neat, vertical streak of bright colour.

We also grow Golden Elder and Black Elder, or wild Elderberry, which is best for country hedging and for picking its flowers & berries.

Elder is delivered pot-grown, year round.
Browse our selection of garden shrubs.

Features

• Columnar habit
• Vivid yellow and green leaves
• To 4m x 1m
• Soil: Grows anywhere, shade tolerant.
• Fragrant white flowers, decorative fruit.
• Looks best when pruned in Spring.

Growing Golden Tower Elderberry

It could be used as an informal hedging plant up to 3m, but most people hard prune it every spring to get the most attractive new foliage, at the expense of height and flowers.

Elder will grow practically anywhere. In full shade, it will become sparse and produce few flowers, but otherwise be fine.

Spacing an Elderflower hedge: A 50cm spacing is fine.

In Your Garden Design

Elder fits into almost every style of planting, from a bustling, informal cottage garden, to a pared back, minimalist urban scheme. We particularly enjoy seeing this bright, golden cultivar providing height and structure to a mixed herbaceous border, finding it looks particularly attractive in contrast with violets, purples and deep reds. Think Delphinium ‘Faust’, Salvia ‘Caradonna’, Geranium ‘Rozanne’, Astrantia ‘Star of Beauty’, Erysimum ‘Winter Flame’, and Agapanthus ‘Poppin Purple’. Alternatively, check out our Moody Blues herbaceous collection for more inspiration.

Did You Know?

Sambucus belongs in Adoxaceae, a small family of flowering plants that includes viburnum.  Wild elder grows wild throughout Europe, and ‘Golden Tower’ was bred in the Netherlands.