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Sambucas Nigra black beauty and Spirea Double Play

annar_K2hTr1annar_K2hTr1 Posts: 13
in Plants
Newbie here! Bought these in pots and planted them out in June. How do I care for them now the leaves are dropping off - do I need to prune or cut back now or wait until spring ? Many thanks for any help. 

Posts

  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    If they are only young plants I wouldn't do anything at all beyond a mulch of composted organic material. When they are more established and bigger you can cut back and shape the Spirea after it flowers. I'm not sure of the time to prune the Sambucas, I tend to cut back when I feel the need but this isn't official gardening strategy!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They won't need anything done to them at this stage, as @Posy says. 
    Pruning is only needed when they're outgrowing their space, or if there's damaged branches, or they need a bit of reshaping. They're both fairly maintenance, and trouble, free. 
    That would usually be after flowering, although they can both be hard pruned if needed, for rejuvenation without any problem.
    Like Cotinus, the Sambucus can be hard pruned early each year if you want, to get strong colour, but you sacrifice all the flowers/fruit if you do that. Most people would go for the 'taking a third out over three years' method of rejuvenation with the elder, used for many shrubs,  which just means you take around a third of the shrub's branches out back to the base one year, and then do the same to the rest of it in the following two years, so that the whole shrub is gradually refreshed, but you still get the benefit of flowers and fruit during that 3 year period. It'll be a while before you need to do any of that though  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I have two mature Sambucus "Black Lace" and I prune them down quite hard each spring, leaving about 18 inches to two feet. I grow them mostly for the foliage. The put on several feet of growth each year and they do flower, but probably later than they would if not pruned. That might depend on the length of the growing season - it's shorter where @Fairygirl lives than it is here.
    I'd probably not prune very young plants like yours this coming spring though.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • JessicaSJessicaS Posts: 870
    Agree nothing needed this young. I have Sambucus black lace as well, mines about 7 years old and 6ft plus, it grows very quickly, I prune it in winter (also milder area of the country) and get flowers and fruit but youve got a few years before thats needed!

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