General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 5a -28.9 °C (-20 °F) to -26.1 °C (-15 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 8b
Plant Height: 8 to 15 feet (2.4-4.6m)
Plant Spread: 4 to 8 feet (1.2-2.4m)
Leaves: Good fall color
Unusual foliage color
Deciduous
Fruit: Showy
Edible to birds
Flowers: Showy
Fragrant
Blooms on old wood
Flower Color: Pink
Bloom Size: 6"-12"
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge
Flowering Tree
Edible Parts: Fruit
Eating Methods: Raw
Cooked
Fermented
Wildlife Attractant: Birds
Butterflies
Resistances: Salt tolerant
Toxicity: Leaves are poisonous
Roots are poisonous
Other: Seed, Leaf, Bark, Roots toxic to animals
Pollinators: Flies
Miscellaneous: Patent/Plant Breeders' Rights: USPP12,305
Awards and Recognitions: Other: 2005 Great Plant Picks Award Winner

Image
Trade name information:
Trade Name: Black Beauty™
Cultivar name: 'Gerda'
Common names
  • Elderberry
  • Black Elder
  • European Elder
  • Bourtree
Also sold as:
  • Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla 'Gerda'

Photo Gallery
Location: Oxfordshire, England
Date: 2019-06-07
whole shrub in bloom
Location: Hortus Camera Lapidea
Date: 2017-06-05
Location: Hortus Camera Lapidea
Date: 2019-02-16
Location: Hortus Camera Lapidea
Date: 2013-06-17
Location: Elberfeld, Indiana
Date: 2013-05-30
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark, EU
Date: 2017-06-20
Location: Ontario Canada
Date: 2020-04-26
Location: Oxfordshire, England
Date: 2016-06-17
Location: Elberfeld, Indiana
Date: 2013-05-30

Date: 2012-05-25
Location: My garden
Date: 2017-07-09
Location: My garden in N E Pa. 
Date: 2016-05-31
Location: Luca's Nursery, Ypsilanti, MI
Date: 2010-06-10
Location: Brownstown Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-05-29
4 years old and 8 feet tall
Location: Brownstown Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-05-29
The blooms smell spicy/peppery and are discernable from many feet

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners
  • Uploaded by Joy

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners
  • Uploaded by Joy

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners
  • Uploaded by Joy
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: 2014-05-24
Location: Luca's Nursery, Ypsilanti, MI
Date: 2010-06-10
Location: Luca's Nursery, Ypsilanti, MI
Date: 2010-06-10
Location: Luca's Nursery, Ypsilanti, MI
Date: 2010-06-10
Location: Luca's Nursery, Ypsilanti, MI
Date: 2010-06-10
Location: At a nursery
Date: 2008-05-14
Location: My garden in Kalama, Wa. Zone 8
Date: 2012-06-16
  • Uploaded by Joy

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2017-05-29

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2012-05-25

Date: 2012-05-25

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