'Black Lace' Elder Plants

Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace' Elder Shrubs, 2 Litre Pots

'Black Lace' is mostly grown for its dusky dark green-purple foliage that turns a rich red in winter. If left unclipped, then it also produces well-scented pink-white flowers that mature into red berries.

Left alone, Black Elderflower makes a fast-growing tree about 3 metres high.

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

Browse our selection of garden shrubs.

Features

• Height: 3m
• Dark foliage, red Autumn display.
• Soil: Grows anywhere, shade tolerant.
• Use: Back of the border, informal hedging.
• Fragrant pink-white flowers, decorative fruit.
• Looks best when pruned in Spring.
• RHS Award of Garden Merit

Growing Black Lace 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

A designer's favourite, the filigree foliage of 'Black Lace' is used to provide an airy but dark contrast to greenery, which in its turn looks all the fresher for this juxtaposition. It would be fun with other moody clarets, or even clashing with burnt-orange tones: check out our decorative dahlia range. Garden designer and writer Dan Pearson is a fan of these calling it a "superlative" foliage plant. In his garden, he set it against Crocosmia "Lucifer" and rust-red day lilies.