Sambucus racemosa Plumosa Aurea - European Red Elder

The Sambucus racemosa Plumosa Aurea is a truly different variety of elderberry cluster which evokes more by its appearance an intermediate creature between the Japanese maple and the arborescent fern than its rough ancestor from our coldest regions. It is adorned with a remarkable golden and feathery foliage, which gives it an extraordinary grace and natural elegance. The yellow of its large leaves harmonises with its white and fragrant flowering in spring and brings out its red fruiting at the end of the season. In the garden this superb bush proves easy to grow in ordinary soil, in partial shade to protect it from the glare of the sun.

A very hardy wild species widespread in Europe, North Africa and as far as Asia Minor, the Sambucus racemosa or mountain elder is a deciduous bush of the caprifoliaceae family, recently moved to the adoxaceae family. Its foliage develops in spring and falls in autumn.

The 'Plumosa Aurea' variety it originates from distinguishes itself by a very original, remarkably architectured and coloured foliage. The fast-growing bush shows a bushy habit, trailing branches, and forms a feathery mass, very airy, 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) high and about 1.75 m (5 ft 8 in) wide. This somewhat undefined habit, and the flexible branches covered with extraordinary yellow and feathery foliage make all the charm of this bush. The leaves, opposite on the stems, with finely incised leaflets, with dentate edges, are red-orange at budding, become pale yellow and remain so until early summer, then turn to yellow-green in summer, before turning to dark yellow in autumn before falling.  Melliferous, its spring flowering in conical panicles of star-shaped creamy white flowers appears at the end of the stems in April, depending on the climate. It is followed by the formation of clusters loaded with very decorative round and bright red berries which are a delight for birds.

The Elder 'Plumosa Aurea' is a treasure for romantic, exotic, or Japanese style gardens. Undemanding of the soil, provided it is well drained but remains fresh, this variety clearly prefers partial shade where it creates a sensation.  Install it in a bush bed, preferably in the foreground, or near an entrance, a window, or at the bend of a path. It can be associated for example with bushes with dark foliage (Physocarpus, Prunus, Berberis, Sambucus nigra Black Lace, Japanese maple Garnet), botany roses or even to a snowball viburnum. It will also match well with the colours of autumn, in front of a screen of deciduous spindle trees, Cotinus, Hydrangea quercifolia, Parrotia persica... 

In the garden:

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