ELDERBERRY DARK LEAVES Sambucus nigra
This is a mixture of seeds from dark-leaved forms of Elderberry including Black Lace and Black Beauty. Foliage will vary and include narrow foliage, and some slightly wider. Overall, this mixture will produce a variety of mainly-dark Elderberry plants for your yard, including bronze, black, red, purple and brown foliage.
Type: Shrub
Height: 1-3 meters. Plants can be pruned to remain as a small shrub, or left to grow to a very small tree.
Location: Sun or part sun
Hardiness zones: 4-9
Bloom time: Spring and summer
Seeds per pack: 5
Note: Many seeds and plants contain poisonous parts, this included. Please keep these seeds and plants in a safe place. This is an ornamental Elderberry only.
Germination: As with many perennial seeds, these seeds require a period of moist cold to help them break dormancy. This is done by giving them a cold 'winter' period (artificial or natural), and then a warming to simulate 'spring', and time to grow! Here's how this can be done:
Obtain a planting container that has holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Place the seeds just under the surface of your growing medium, and water. Place your container in a cold area (but not freezing, perhaps a refrigerator) for 4-6 weeks. Once the cold period is completed, place the container at room temperature for them to germinate. Be sure to keep the soil moist during this entire germination period. Seedlings will sprout a few weeks, or occasionally several months, after the warming period.
If you are planting your seeds in late winter or spring, these seeds can be planted outdoors while it is still cool out (once the ground is workable and unfrozen), to receive the cold period naturally in the garden.
