Black Lace® Elderberry

As low as $49.69 was $69.99
Availability: In stock
SKU
3967

Magnificent Deep Purple Black Lace Elderberry Shrub

  • Really Easy Care and Fast Growing
  • Lacy Foliage of Dark Leaves Emerge in Early Spring
  • Lemon Scented, Soft Pink Blooms in Early Summer Bring Butterflies
  • Glossy Purple Berries Make Tasty Jam or Wine
  • Wonderful for Mass Planting
  • Ornamental Contrast to Evergreen Trees and Shrubs
  • Cold Hardy
  • Grows in Full Sun or Partial Shade
  • Can Be Tightly Pruned and Kept in Containers
  • Foliage Looks Great in Cut Flower Arrangements

The exciting Black Lace Elderberry (Sambucus nigra 'Eva' PP15,575) takes the traditional notion of a rangy old, plain Jane Elderberry and throws it out the window. With dark purple-red, deeply dissected foliage and a fragrant light pink bloom, this glamorous variety rewrites the way we can use the Elderberry in the landscape!

Developed in England in the late 1980s, this is commonly known as the European Elderberry. Its noted for stylish, dark purple-red, narrow leaves and puffy, lemon scented, pink blooms in the spring.

This dramatic shrub looks stunning with its almost-black foliage. The elegant leaves are almost as ornate as real black lace.

Young stems are purple, and gradually become a grey-brown as they age. The light pink flowers are exquisitely visible, floating on top of the dark foliage of the Black Lace Elderberry.

The whole plant is sophisticated, including dark fall berries that occur if you plant a pollination partner.

Use Black Lace as a high-impact accent plant or plant it as an informal hedgerow. The Black Lace Elderberry is the perfect plant for the back of a mixed perennial garden. Or, keep it in a container on your patio.

Add excitement to your yard by using the Black Lace Elderberry as a hedge or foundation plant. This unique beauty even makes an ideal specimen plant or tree.

When this amazing plant first came onto the scene, it won "Best Plant of the Year," and its reputation hasn't wavered. Planting some Black Lace Elderberry is a no-brainer if you want beauty, berries, and excitement in your yard! Order yours today!

How to Use Black Lace Elderberry in the Landscape

You could consider this plant as a living sculpture. Black Lace Elderberry is not a perfect, rounded, uniform little ball like Green Gem Boxwood. Instead, the overall look of this stylish upright shrub is free-form, a bit flowy and wild.

You can place a single plant where it will have the space it needs to stretch out and become the magnificent specimen it wants to be. Or, keep it pruned into a tall, narrow waterfall of fascinating purple-black foliage.

Use several plants in a curving row to effortlessly create a marvelously organic flowering hedge around your patio. It provides an airy sense of privacy and elevates the look of your space.

For a hedge, plant them 4 5 feet apart on center. Youll measure from the center of one to the center of the next. If you want to grow an individual plant, give it 7 8 feet of wiggle room.

It would make a unique and memorable anchor plant at the corner of your foundation planting. Youll love the way it resembles Japanese Maple, but adds beautiful, bright berries in fall. Youll also appreciate how low maintenance it is.

Keep it pruned in a large pot on the patio. It will definitely take on the Thriller role and bring a lot of excitement to your balcony, porch or patio. Black Lace would look great in large, unglazed terra cotta, or plain concrete containers. Make it pop it against brightly glazed pots of any color from gray, red, dark blue, bright yellow, deep pink, and so on. You name it!

Place one on either side of a wide gate to create a wonderful sense of anticipation to whats beyond. The lush, ferny dark foliage beckons and the fresh lemony scent of the wide clusters of tiny, precious, fragrant pink flowers enchant you and your guests.

Use several across your property line. Youll extend the height and improve the looks of any landscape fence.

Theyll behave as a perfectly chic backdrop to so many other plants, (including those little Green Gem Boxwood balls)! With the outstanding, wispy texture of the deep leaves, theyll partner beautifully with flowing Ornamental Grasses, spiky Yucca, stolid evergreens or rounded Rose bushes.

Black Lace Elderberry plant thrives in wet or moderately wet soil. They can be used in Rain Gardens to filter water runoff from roofs and streets.

You can see where all this is going, right? These fabulous plants are versatile!

#ProPlantTips for Care

Plant it in just about any soil in either full sun or partial shade and give it regular water. Then, just watch it grow!

This forgiving Elderberry is complimented by hard pruning. After the first year, cut it back down to 12 inches tall to encourage a bushier plant. Every 3 years, hard prune in the spring to maintain it's shape and remove unwanted growth.

Tip prune it each year to keep it shorter or remove the outside stems all the way to the ground to keep it in a narrow, columnar shape.

Dark purple berries ripen in the fall and can be used like its American counterpart, the Sambucus canadensis for jams and wine. The birds and wildlife enjoy these juicy dark little berries, but don't let them eat all of them. Cook them with sweetener to make fabulous wine and tasty preserves.

For the best fruiting, plan to pair it with a York Elderberry, Black Beauty or Laced Up Elderberry as a pollination partner. Use a single plant, or several Black Lace together if you dont want to grow berries.

The plant requires a thick layer of mulch for consistent surface moisture and to keep the root system cool in the heat of the summer. Apply 3 to 4 inches of an acidic mulch out 4 feet from the center of the plant. Feed with Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Organic and Natural Premium Fertilizer late in the winter and after fruit sets in the summertime.

This beautiful plant attracts butterflies and birds and jealous neighbors. Dont be surprised to get lots of curious questions from visitors to your garden. Order today and enjoy it!

Buying Options for Plants

Nature Hills sells a large variety of plants with several options available. Plants are offered in both potted containers and as dormant bare root without soil. Here is a helpful resource to understand your options as you create a beautiful landscape with help from Nature Hills.

Ever wonder what a larger plant will mean for your landscape? Container Sizes are really all about the age of the plant!

Seasonally, Nature Hills offers hand selected, high quality bare root trees, shrubs and perennials. Bare root plants are sold by height from the top of the root system to the top of the plant. Plants may be taller than the height minimums.

  • Popular sizes of select trees are 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, etc.
  • Popular sizes of select bare root plants is 1 foot, 18 inches, etc.

Nature Hills Container Size by Volume

Keep in mind, specific varieties and different growing conditions can affect the rate at which plants grow. Variations in size may occur.

Young Plants to 18 Months
Size Volume
2"x2"x3" Ranges from .18 to .21 dry quarts / .198 to .23 dry liters in volume
4.5" Container Equal to .65 dry quart / .72 dry liter in volume
Sprinter Pot Equal to .63 dry quart / .69 dry liter in volume
4" Container Ranges from .31 to .87 / .35 to .96 dry liter in volume
6" Container Equal to 1.4 dry quarts / 1.59 dry liters in volume
1 Quart Equal to 1 dry quart / 1.1 dry liter in volume
5.5" Container Equal to 1.89 of a dry quart / 2.08 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x5" Ranges from .8 to 1.1 dry quarts / .88 to 1.2 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x6" Ranges from 1.0 to 1.3 dry quarts / 1.1 to 1.41 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x9" Ranges from 1.1 to 2.1 dry quarts / 1.2 to 2.3 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x10" Ranges from 1.7 to 2.3 dry quart / 1.87 to 2.53 dry liters in volume
Plants 18 Months - 2.5 Years Old
Size Volume
2 Quart Equal to 2 dry quarts / 2.2 dry liters in volume
#1 Container Ranges from 2.26 to 3.73 dry quarts / 2.49 to 4.11 dry liters in volume
5"x5"x12" Equal to 3.5 to 4.3 dry quarts / 3.85 to 4.74 dry liters in volume
Plants 2 - 4 Years Old
Size Volume
#2 Container Ranges from 1.19 to 1.76 dry gallons / 5.24 to 7.75 dry liters in volume
#3 Container Ranges from 2.32 to 2.76 dry gallons / 10.22 to 12.16 dry liters in volume
Plants 3 - 5 Years Old
Size Volume
#5 Container Ranges from 2.92 to 4.62 dry gallons / 12.86 to 20.35 dry liters in volume
#6 Container Ranges from 5.25 to 6.01 dry gallons / 23.12 to 26.42 dry liters in volume
#7 Container Ranges from 5.98 to 6.08 dry gallons / 26.34 to 26.78 dry liters in volume

About Plant Sentry™

Plant Sentry is designed to protect both consumers and the nursery trade from invasive plant pests and diseases. Sites that display the Plant Sentry protection badge are protected from consumers buying and nurseries shipping material carrying invasive pests and diseases.

This proprietary eCommerce software prevents the shipment of a restricted plant to each state. The Plant Sentry system includes a shipment certification program. The Plant Sentry Compliance Officer works closely with NatureHills.com and each nursery or fulfillment center to ensure only compliant plants are sold to customers.

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Shipping

To obtain a more accurate shipment time-frame, simply enter your zip code in the “Find Your Growing Zone” box to the right. Our plants are grown all over the country and lead time on items may be different because of this. Once your order is placed, you will also receive the specific shipment time-frame information as part of your order confirmation. Once an item ships, you will receive shipment notification and tracking numbers, so you can follow along while your plant travels to your doorstep. We use FedEx, UPS, or USPS at our discretion.

Due to winter weather we have put a hold on shipping to the areas shown below in grey. You can still order now and we will ship the plant to you during an appropriate time for your zone.

*If you have found your zone already, it will be highlighted in the table below.
Color Zone Times
3 Spring 2019
4 Now
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Shipping Rates

At Nature Hills we handle, package and ship the products you order with the utmost care to ensure healthy delivery. Shipping and handling charges are calculated based on the tables below. Please note that some items include an additional handling surcharge, these will be noted on the item's product page.

From To S&H
0 - 19.99 24.99
20 - 49.99 29.99
50 - 69.99 34.99
70 - 99.99 39.99
100 - 129.99 44.99
130 - 149.99 48.99
150 - 150+ Approx 28%

Click here to see our full rates

PLANT HIGHLIGHTS

Black Lace® Elderberry Is Suited to Grow in Zones 4-7
Growing Zones 4-7
More Information
Brand Proven Winners ColorChoice
Botanical Name Sambucus nigra 'Eva'
Mature Height 6 - 8 feet
Mature Spread 6 - 8 feet
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Soil Widely Adaptable
Moisture Moderate
Growth Rate Fast
Flower Color Deciduous
Foliage Deciduous
Foliage Color Burgundy / Purple
Fall Color Burgundy / Purple
Pollinator Friendly Yes
Photos courtesy of Proven Winners, Inc - www.provenwinners.com