Black Elderberry

Growth habit

Shrub

Perennation

Perennial

Location

Young Flower Garden, Zucker Shrub Collection

Source of plant

Nature Hills Nursery, Spring Meadow Nursery

Description

BLACK LACE™ is a cultivar of European elderberry. It is particularly noted for its deeply cut dark purple foliage, its lemon-scented, pink flowers and its dark blackish-red elderberries. It is a large, upright, deciduous shrub that typically matures to 6-8’ tall. It was developed in England in a somewhat complex 10-year breeding program commenced in 1988. Compound pinnate leaves are dark purple and generally retain that color throughout most of the growing season. Leaflets are deeply cut. Young stems are also purple, with older branches being a rough, gray-brown. Tiny pink flowers appear in large flattened cymes, to 10” across, in June. Flowers emit a lemony aroma. Flowers give way to clusters of black elderberry fruits in late summer. Fruits are attractive to wildlife.

USDA Hardiness Zone

4

Special characteristics

foliage characteristics, fragrance