By Lawrence C. Sherk, Sheridan Nurseries Limited

Native, fast growing, edible fruit, attractive for wildlife, shade tolerant, colourful foliage — need we say more? Sounds like they would be one of the most widely used group of shrubs. However, they are not. Several species and cultivars are available in the trade and at least one or two selections will be found in garden centres that carry more than your basic spirea-potentilla-forsythia selection of shrubs. Two species, Sambucus canadensis and Sambucus pubens (red-berried elder) are native across much of southern Ontario. My parents went out into the country each summer and fall to gather quantities of the fruit to make elderberry pies. They were never a favourite of mine as the small fruit and seeds gave the pies a gritty texture, but I was an exception in the family. Even to this day, elderberry pies are a special treat at family gatherings. Elderberry wine was another local treat for other families.

     Today, the native species, Sambucus canadensis and Sambucus pubens, are sought after as “native” shrubs for naturalizing and for use in other areas where “native” is prescribed. Both species are very vigorous and can reach heights of 2 to 3 m. Foliage is pinnate and green, the white flowers appear in large clusters in early June for the American elder and later in mid summer for the red-berried elder. The flowers are soon followed by black fruit in the American elder, red in the other species. Various selections for larger fruit clusters have been made. The most commonly encountered selection is Sambucus canadensis ‘Adams’.

     In the modern landscape, elders are more widely used because of their colourful foliage and fast growth where mass is needed. The cultivar ‘Aurea’ is widely used because of its bright yellow foliage that turns a greenish gold by mid summer. ‘Goldfinch’ is a newer cultivar that has dissected leaves with bright, golden yellow foliage through early to mid summer and a more compact growth habit with ultimate height reaching closer to 2 m. ‘Maxima’ is a cultivar selected for its larger flower heads, which are often 30 cm wide.

     The European elder, Sambucus nigra, is also noted for its foliage selections. These include the vigorous ‘Aurea’ with golden foliage, ‘Guinho Purple’, a recent introduction with reddish-purple foliage, and ‘Madonna’, an interesting selection with foliage variegated deep green with yellowish white borders to the leaflets. The selection ‘Laciniata’ has attractive deeply cut green foliage, noteworthy because of its finer texture. All of these selections are vigorous growers but do not reach these same heights as the species. They still do, however, produce a mass of foliage with showy fruit.

     Sambucus pubens is used for naturalizing and is hardy in Zones 3 to 9. The flowers are yellowish-white in pyramidal clusters, the fruit scarlet.

     ‘Goldenlocks’ and ‘Sutherland Gold’ are two cut leaf golden selections of the European Red Elder, probably derived from its selection, ‘Pumosa-Aurea’. Another species native in coastal and southern British Columbia, Sambucus caerulea, the blueberry elder is starting to find its way into cultivation in the west and now in Ontario. Its special attraction is the large clusters of blue fruit, which look like large cluster of small blueberries. It, too, is a large shrub, maturing between 2 and 3 m. It is hardy in Zones 5 to 9. This is an interesting “native” shrub that deserves wider use in natural landscaping.

     Most elders grow in sun or shade but colour on the golden selections will be much brighter in full sun. They also grow well in moist or dry soils but are not suited for use in restricted areas. They can and probably should be kept under control every few years with extensive renewal pruning and removal of the older branches back to ground levels. Young plants in nursery containers often put out long shoots that do not overwinter. These branches should be pruned back to 20 to 30 cm in the spring to produce attractive compact plants for garden centres sales.

Correction: In the Grower’s Six Pack in the September 2000 issue of Landscape Trades, the illustration on page 58 of Cornus kousa chinensis was of the selection “Milky Way” not “Misty Meadows” as labeled.