(Elderberry) Black Lace™ is a stunning development in Elderberry breeding. Its intense black-purple foliage is finely cut, giving it an effect similar to that of 'Japanese' maple. Indeed, some designers are using it in place of the more sensitive maple varieties since Black Lace™ is extremely durable and adaptable. Its creamy pink flowers in spring contrast nicely with its dark leaves. They are followed by blackish-red fall berries, which can be harvested for making Elderberry wine and jam, or left on the plant to attract birds and other wildlife. Black Lace™ is very cold hardy and easy to grow, plus adaptable to most sites. Full sun is needed for the best color. If left alone it will reach up to 8 feet in height, but Black Lace™ can also be pruned back each year to fit into more formal settings. It can be used as a dramatic accent plant, or planted in masses, and creates a trouble free high hedge. Great shrub in the landscape, also an excellent potted shrub on the patio. Dies back to the ground in the northern states (roots are hardy). As a young plant it is best to prune or pinch your plant in order to build a full-bodied, well-branched plant. If the plant is leggy when you purchased it, shear the plant back hard by 1/3 to 1/2 its original size. Once it puts on an inch or two of growth, pinch the branch tips to remove just the growing tips, these tips control branching. Once growing tips are removed the buds below it will turn into stems. Once these new branches grow an inch or two, pinch the tips out again. You can repeat this throughout the first growing season as you are tending your garden. Although you will sacrifice blooms, this technique results in a well-branched, full-bodied plant that will have more flowers in subsequent years. The second season in the ground, repeat the pinching practice (or lightly shear) up until mid-August. Stop pruning after mid-August, because the flowers are on old wood this would allow time for the flower buds to form prior to winter. During the third and subsequence seasons, prune or pinch as necessary after flowering and before buds set in mid-August. Do not be afraid to prune or shear your plant harder if you wish to maintain a shorter size. Patent Strings: Black Lace™ Sambucus nigra 'Eva' PP: 15575 Can. Can.: 2633