Sambucus - Elderberries for the Garden
is used in wildlife plantings and where the fruit are desired for culinary uses.
'Aurea' - A rounded plant with yellow foliage and red fruits.
'Aureomarginata' - Uncut leaves with golden-yellow edges. The edge is very wide in full sun. Pictured at the top of this article.
'Goldfinch' - The leaves are both cut and yellow.
'Guincho Purple' - Purple leaves, intensifying in late summer. White flowers with red bits inside. Hardy to zone 6 only,
'Laciniata' - A cultivar with lacy, cutleaves.
'Madonna' - Variegated leaves start out edged in gold and soften to cream by mid-summer.
'Marginata' - Boldly variegated foliage. Grows to only 4 feet tall.
'Maxima' - A vigorous cultivar with large flowers and leaves. The flower stalks are purple.
'Plumosa' - Developed in Russia before 1886. Much like Tenuifolia except more upright and with wider leaves. Developed from a racemosa - do not eat raw.
'Pulverulenta' - The young leaves are almost white, the older ones are splashed with green. Known in England since 1740.
'Sutherland' - Another racemosa (don't eat the berries raw!) with creamy white flowers and golden, finely cut foliage. Pictured at the top of this article.
'Tenuifolia' - A racemosa hybrid with very finely cut leaves. Forms a low bush to 3 feet tall, much like a Japanese maple. Never eat the berries raw. Originated from 'Plumosa'.
'York' - This cultivar grows to about 12 feet tall and wide with good fruit production. The fruit matures later than those of 'Adams' but fruit set is better when more than one cultivar is grown.
These are just some of the Sambucus varieties available today. As I find more, or hear of them from you, I will add them to this growing list. Remember, if there is anything you would like me to add to any Urban Gardening article, please make a suggestion in our discussion area.
Speaking of discussion areas...
Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus
If you can properly translate the above elderberry-related latin quote, post your answer in the discussion area here. There is a clue hidden in this article, but if you've read it already, you probably already picked it out and wondered... why? What is the prize? Satisfaction and your name in lights...
Superb Sambucus Links
American Elderberry
The Time-Life Encyclopedia calls Sambucus canadensis American -- interesting. In any case, this has a nice picture and lots of great growing information. It is also the jumping off point where you can look up
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