Black Elderberry | Sambucus 'Black Lace'
Liquorice foliage with pink sherbet umbels
Grown by Danielle
South Downs National Park
Perfectly happy plants, or your money back
Specialist overnight plant delivery
The highlights
- Dramatic lacy, almost black foliage with pink scented blooms
- Plant in a mixed border or as attractive hedging
- Grows to 3m x 2m
- RHS Award of Garden Merit winner
Description
- A large deciduous perennial which can be pruned to keep as a shrub or allowed to grow into a tree
- Darkest purple, almost black lacy foliage with pale pink, lemon-scented flowers from May to June
- Best grown in full sun for the darkest colour, this is a versatile plant which can be used as a single specimen or for hedging and screening
- Can grow up to 3m tall unless pruned
- The flowers and berries are edible (although the foliage is not). The berries attract birds and can also be used to make wine
- RHS Award of Garden Merit winner
What To Expect
Supplied as:
Height on arrival:
Eventual height:
Eventual spread:
Time to first crop:
Flower colour:
Habit:
Hardiness:
Rootstock:
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How To Grow
Good pest and disease resistance
Can be affected by aphids. Pick these off by hand and spray the area with soapy water. In rare cases, can suffer from Verticillium Wilt. This causes yellowing and shrivelling of the lower leaves, and some or all of the plant suddenly wilts, especially in hot weather, and brown or black streaks in the tissue under the bark. Where the disease is confirmed, take care not to spread potentially infected soil around, remove the infected plant with as much root system as possible and destroy. Consider grassing over the area for at least fifteen years, or plant a resistant replacement.
Full sun to partial shade
Grow in full sun (at least 6 hours daily) for the best colour.
Any moist, well-drained soil
Sambucus does well in any moist, well-drained soil. If your soil is particularly clay-heavy and/or often becomes waterlogged then you can improve the drainage by adding in plenty of organic matter such as garden compost as well as some perlite or gravel.
Prune lightly
Pruning Group 1 - Will tolerate hard pruning to restrict the size; can be maintained as a small shrub if desired. Remove diseased, damaged, congested or crossing shoots. Shoots that are growing in unwanted directions can also be pruned out.
Planting Calendar
- Best time to plant
- Harvest
- Flower
South Downs National Park
Meet Danielle
110 years' expertise free with every plant
Straight from the capable hands of our shrub specialist Danielle to your garden, you can be sure that each bush, hedge and plant is grown to last. Nurtured in the fields of the South Downs and professionally pruned for the best shape, these hardy feature plants will be adding structure, colour and variety to your garden for many years to come.
What customers say about us
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Growing with Roots
Good to know
Our plants are grown in the UK
Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.
Our plants are delivered overnight
Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 24 hours.
We're here to help at every step
We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team of experts.
Perfect plants, guaranteed
We’re confident that you’ll be delighted with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re perfectly happy.
Learn from our experts
How to Design a Flower Bed
Digging deep to answer your questions
How do I know I'm getting quality plants?
All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.
When will I get my plants?
The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.
How will my plants be packed and delivered?
We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.
Where do you deliver?
We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.
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What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Best plants you will ever get online
I have ordered plants from them twice this year. They arrived well packaged, on time and looked strong and healthy. I feel the staff from Roots plants deal with their plants and customers with passion and care. I can’t wait to order again, price is good as well.
Peter Mawer
Highly recommended all round
Delivered quickly, perfectly packaged and the tree was in excellent condition. Really healthy and taken to the garden with no problems. Can't recommend highly enough. 5 stars isn't enough!
John Harris
Satisfied customer
Unlike other online sellers, this company are well ahead in the quality stakes. My plant arrived promptly as per their promise and the plant was much more established and healthy than I had expected. It’s the second time I have ordered from them and I have faith in their promise. Excellent service.
Karen McEwan
A really good quality tree
A really good quality tree, delivered on time and very well packaged. But the emailed planting advice and supporting information was what really impressed me. Thoroughly recommended.
Martin C Simmons
Exceptional quality
The quality of the plants was exceptional, unlike ones I have had before from local garden centres. Thank you so much. I will definitely be using you again.
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Marvelous service, great plants and fast delivery. Very useful information on how to care for the plants I bought. Easy to use website that makes it far too easy to overindulge in fabulous plants😂🌱
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