Sambucus nigra Black Lace

Description

With its dramatic black foliage and beautiful creamy-pink flowers, Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace' is a real head turner!
An ornamental form of the common elder, it's a real favourite with leading garden designers because of its stunning deeply divided leaves and manageability, plus as a holder of the RHS Award of Garden Merit, it's been judged to be perfect for UK gardens.
Flowering from May to June, Black Lace produces stunning umbels of dainty pink, star-shaped blooms with a subtle, lemon fragrance. These fade from rich pink to pale pink, contrasting wonderfully with its luxurious, purple-black, fern-like foliage.
In autumn, the pollen-rich flowers are followed by purple-black, shiny, round berries that will attract plenty of wildlife into your garden.
Looking like a desirable Acer tree but at the fraction of the cost, it's fully hardy, robust and a breeze to look after – it'll tolerate really harsh pruning too, springing back to life even when cut almost to the ground.
As an added bonus, and perfect if you're into growing your own, the berries will make vitamin-rich, home-made cordials and the flowers can be used to make Elderflower Champagne!
Supplied as an established plant in a 2L pot, ready to plant straight out.
To get a great display of fresh, dark leaves, cut back to ground level each year in early spring and apply a 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure around the base.