Sambucus nigra Golden Tower - Black Elder

The Sambucus nigra Golden Tower, also known as Elder, is a recent creation from the Netherlands, notable for its elegance and brightness. It forms, as its name suggests, a very beautiful deciduous bush with a narrow and flexible habit, featuring unique foliage, green-golden, finely cut, with a feathery and shiny appearance. Its summer flowering in large white umbels adds to its charm. It is also a hardy plant and easy to grow in ordinary soil, in full sun or partial shade. Original and bright, it can be planted as a stand-alone specimen, in the centre of a bed, or in a large pot on the terrace.

The Sambucus nigra Golden Tower is a plant belonging to the caprifoliaceae family, just like honeysuckles. It comes from the Sambucus nigra, a widespread wild species in Europe, North Africa, and even in Asia Minor. It is an upright, narrow, and columnar bush, supported by flexible branches, reaching a height of 3m (9 ft 10in) and a width of 70cm (27.6in). Its fast growth allows it to reach maturity at 7 years. Its foliage is splendid with leaves finely divided into numerous thin leaflets, elongated, with curled edges and ranging in colour from golden yellow to acidic green. The flowering usually occurs in June (or a little earlier depending on the climate), in the form of broad false umbels measuring 10 to 20cm (7.9in). The small, white and slightly fragrant flowers, with 5 petals, are carried by reddish petioles.

The Golden Tower elder stands out for the brightness of its foliage and the elegance of its narrow habit. Like all elders, it is hardy and easy to grow in ordinary, not too dry soil, without any specific soil requirements. For example, plant it in a shrub bed, near an entrance or window, or along a path. You can also keep it in a large pot or container for many years. It can be combined, for example, with dark foliage plants (Physocarpus, Prunus, Berberis), burnet roses, or sapwood viburnums. It also pairs well with autumn colours, in front of a screen of deciduous smoke bushes, Cotinus, Hydrangea quercifolia, Parrotia persica...

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

In the garden:

Elderberry leaves are known to accelerate compost decomposition. Elderberry leaf infusion proves useful in organic gardening to fight against mildew and aphid attacks, or rodents: steep 1 kg of leaves for a few days in 10 L of water, and spray as needed. It can also be planted in an orchard, where it attracts insect-predatory birds.