Fastigiate Black Lace® elderberry
It's Halloween so it seems like a good time to highlight a plant with some Nightmare Before Christmas appeal. I could have gone with
the obvious, like Ghost® weigela, but instead, I'd like to present a plant
that Morticia Addams would covet: Laced Up
®
Sambucus.
®
Sambucus but narrow and columnar. Laced Up® elderberry has the same deeply cut, dark purple foliage and pink flowers as Black Lace®, but grows upright with an occasional twist to one side or the other. If you want a sedate, traditional silhouette, this is not the plant for you. But if you or a customer wants something really different from everything else in the neighborhood, Laced Up® is your plant.
Laced Up® Sambucus nigra will
grow 6-8' tall and 2-4' wide. It doesn't need pruning in production; its
natural inclination is to grow vertically without much (any) branching. You can
prune it as a young plant to get a couple of branches on it - they, too, will
grow straight up.
It will grow in full sun or partial shade, with more intense color in full sun. It is hardy to USDA Zone 4. Although not selected for its fruit production, it will produce black berries if planted near Black Lace® Sambucus.
Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles
