Sambucus Nigra (black elder) - in container??

[starr]

I only have a very small garden and it's mostly paved so I'm limited for what I can put in it. I'm going for the vertical look, with archways and trellis for climbers, but I'd really like to have a couple of tall plants in containers as well - preferably something that will stay interesting over winter. I don't have the space for anything that's going to grow wide, but I really like Sambucus Nigra and I was wondering if it'd be possible to grow it in a pot without it getting too big. Any ideas?

[Two_Sheds]

I had my baby ones in a pot, but the ones in the ground get pretty darn big.

[starr]

Did they do OK in a pot? When you say baby ones, were they the same type you'd plant in the ground and they stay small if you have them in a container, or were they a different type? Sorry if that's really obvious, I'm a total beginner at gardening!

[Two_Sheds]

They are last year's cuttings that I have potted up - I will be planting them out soon, in the garden.

You could try it in a large pot. Ensure that you can give the plant some shade. Keep well watered in dry weather and feed occasionally.

[vicky]

Sambucus are pretty tough plants and will put up with being kept in a pot (although make sure you feed and water as TwoSheds says). I prune them to keep them the right size. As they are spring flowering you'd need to prune after they flower to allow new buds time to form for the following year.
Try to position it with a lighter plant/wall behind otherwise the dark foliage could get 'lost'.

[JimmerG]

Can I also recommend that you do everythying to can to keep slugs away from them. I planted a Sambuca Nigra and it REALLY struggled for a year as the slugs munched through EVERYSINGLE new bud that appeared. They stripped it bare, so now I'm on slug watch this spring to try and allow it to get going.

Maybe if yours in in a pot it'll be easier to protect...

[Maf]

Sambucus Nigra is Common Elder. Are you refering to the Black Beauty variety?

Are you growing for flowers/fruit or just the ferny leaf colour ?

If it's the latter I would try something else. An Acer perhaps ? No black ones as far as I'm aware but plenty of cut leafed varieties with great autumn colour which will stay relatively small.

Sambucus are shrubby and not very pretty when leafless, though they tolerate been cut back hard. Given a half decent spot they will romp away and grow very quickly but can sulk if too dry.

If its narrow verticals your after have you thought of Juniperous Skyrocket (perhaps a bit too fast growing) Taxus baccata standishii is great in a pot, evergreen, slow growing, lights up a dull corner, but isn't cheep to buy.

Sorry for rambling...

S.Nigra in a pot... I'd say No !

[gojiberry]

I have a Sambuca Nigra in a pot, it is in its 4th year and is only18" high. It is a nice plant in spring and early summer when you get the contrast between the dark foliage and the pale flowers. Will be potting mine on this year into about a 15/18in pot. As someone said they are a bit twiggy looking in winter.

Ian

[NUMANOID]

Hi Starr, If you are refering to the Black Beauty Variety, I would say that from personal experience that it is not suited to a pot as they can get VERY big. I had on in a large container and it struggled a bit so I had to transplant it into the garden, it is now in excess of 2metres wide and 3metres tall. It looks superb though. Also it loses all of its foliage during the autumn so looks poor in the winter. If you want something impressive, can I reccomend a tree lupin in a large container. It has fantastic foliage, flowers spring/summer and grows to 5-6 feet and likes full sun, FABULOUS.

[sarraceniac]

Black Lace is more suited to pots than Black Beauty. It isn't quite so rampant and is far more delicate looking. My neighbour has had one in a large pot for a couple of years (I don't think the strain is much older than that anyway) and so far it is doing well.

[SarzWix]

I was bought a 'Black Lace' nearly 3 years ago, and have nowhere to plant it. It's still in the pot it came from the GC in... The pot is sitting in a saucer, and it's been fed once a year. Yes, it's still alive and just about to flower! It's only grown about an inch every year.
So, yes, you can grow 'Black Lace' in a pot But, it'd probably better off in a slightly bigger pot than mine has

[Lesley Sergeant]

Black Beauty

I am a new member.
I was looking for info on the Black Beauty, sambucus nigra...
I have grown one for many years in a dustbin (70 litres vol or so = approx 10 gallons). It was ace, no probs what so ever. It seems to like full sun, the purple leaves revert to green if it's kept out of the sun for any length of time. It's flowered and it's fruited in the dustbin and life was fine...
I moved house 18 months back and planted most of my containered garden into the ground at the new property. The soil here is clay, well I don't have soil in most area's it's solid clay. But I have managed by using a lot of soil improvers to grow most things in the ground, I have had to make drainage channels in places to prevent things drowning.
I did not expect the sambucus to be a problem, the wild elder seems to grow everywhere, but it seems (due to very little active growth this year) as if it's too wet. Does anyone know what else the Black beauty was developed from apart from the sambucus?
(I am currently in the middle of digging a drainage channel & just having a T break)
Lesley

[Lesley Sergeant]

I've got that conversion wrong it's definately 70 litre dustbin, no idea in gallons. Drainage channel now complete with slug pellets scattered around tree, (in case it's not the damp that's upsetting it). I noted somewhere that someone was having problems with slugs on the black beauty, and I have to confess to having ninja slugs in my garden.
I don't like slug pellets and have tried the copper rings and tape but they keep getting through or over them.