Sambucus nigra Blue Sheen - Elder

Sambucus nigra 'Blue Sheen' is a variety of black elderberry that stands out for its dark foliage that takes on magnificent blue and silver reflections in full light. It is a large bush with a rather slender habit, with cut foliage and delicate pink summer flowering that stands out well against richly coloured vegetation. It also produces clusters of small edible black berries. A superb plant, perfectly hardy, undemanding and almost maintenance-free.

Sambucus nigra f.porphyrophylla 'Blue Sheen' ('Hyfsheen') is a deciduous shrub from the Adoxaceae family. It is a horticultural selection. Its wild ancestor, Sambucus nigra, is widespread in Europe, North Africa, and as far as Asia Minor. Black elderberry is an opportunistic and highly adaptable species, found in open woods, hedges, fallow land, coastal dunes, and even near human settlements where it has coexisted for millennia. It is an undemanding shrub that is really easy to grow everywhere. It tolerates clay-limestone soils perfectly, even relatively dry ones if they are deep.
The 'Blue Sheen' cultivar, with its rapid growth, reaches a height of up to 4 m with a spread of 2-3 m. Its habit is bushy and upright. Its woody branches are verrucate, greyish and filled with white pith. They bear particularly ornamental foliage; its leaves are divided into ovate and toothed leaflets that change colour throughout the seasons, while retaining a silver-blue shine in full light. In spring, the young leaves are reddish-purple, they turn darker red to reddish-brown in summer and autumn before falling. Flowering usually occurs in June (a little earlier or later depending on the climate). It takes the form of false umbels measuring 10 to 12 cm in diameter that remain decorative for a long time. Each umbel consists of numerous tiny 5-petaled flowers. Over time, these flowers change from cherry pink to pinkish-white, creating a delightful range of colours on the shrub. This slightly fragrant flowering attracts many pollinating insects. The fruits, edible once cooked, are black to purplish berries with soft flesh, measuring 6 mm in diameter.

'Blue Sheen' elderberry is a beautiful shrub for a large flowering hedge, but it also looks great when planted as a standalone specimen, at the corner of a path, or the front of a large shrub bed. Like all elderberries, it is robust and easy to combine with other flowering shrubs. For example, it can be associated with hedge lilacs, Viburnum opulus 'Roseum' (Snowball Viburnum), the vigorous 'Richmond' sacred bamboo, Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' (Panicle Hydrangea), or even weigelas for hedges, with their impressive stature.

In the kitchen: the flowers can be prepared in fritters or syrup by macerating them in sugar. The buds in vinegar are used to enhance salads, and the berries are consumed in juice, jellies or jams, or in wine. They add a pleasant fragrance to apple cakes. Only the flowers and berries without their petioles are edible, the rest of the plant can be toxic.

Good to know: elderberry leaves are known to speed up compost decomposition. Black elderberry leaf infusion can be useful in organic gardening to fight against mildew and attacks from aphids or rodents. Soak 1 kg of leaves in 10 L of water for a few days, and spray as needed. It can also be planted in an orchard, where it attracts insect-eating birds.