Sambucus nigra 'LINEARIS'

Aren’t the breeders krafty, I often say to myself. Take European elder, for instance. This omnipresent shrub grows anywhere, without any maintenance and the more you prune it the thicker it gets. Well, what a promising start for cultivation, someone said. And here we are! So forget about the common weed of our countryside and dive in the world of SAMBUCUS, the world of colours, shapes and sizes that, with 10 different varieties, could well do for one complete garden.

Linearis is a beautiful but rare elder variety with exceptionally fine leaves. The foliage is so thin you wonder if it's the fairies and elves who come every night to cut them so delicately. In May open creamy white, fragrant flowers composed in flattened panicles. I have to admit that flowering is quite shy on this specialty, still, when you do get flowers you can expect edible berries in late summer, as on every European elder. It is not a vigorous grower and forms a shrub of about 1.5m tall and wide.

Elder tolerates wide ranges of soil and will be happy of almost any location. Its size can easily be controlled by early spring pruning. You can cut back anything from 1/3 to 2/3 of previous year’s growth but after hard pruning it will flower less. Older plants benefit from removal of old branches in order to rejuvenate. Fully hardy to about -34°C (USDA zone 4). Not suitable for container growing.

Last update 21-01-2019