Plant Spotlight: Black Elder

The plant I get asked about the most at the golf course is definitely the Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace').  It is a tall, elegant, woody shrub that has beautiful dark chocolate lacy foliage and produces fluffy white fragrant plumes in June.

We have two Black Elder at Quilchena- one located at the bed at #18 and another located in the #12 bed.

For a woody shrub they sure have a lot of visual impact. They stand tall at a mature height of about 10 feet. With wide arching branches they add a strong visual impact to a garden bed. These low maintenance shrubs do very well in a full sun location. And have the added appeal of producing edible berries that are very attractive to birds in the Fall.

Plant these beauties in moist but well drained soil and give them ample room to put on a show. They are sure to wow!