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Sambucas Black Beauty

annar_K2hTr1annar_K2hTr1 Posts: 13
in Plants
Hi. Planted out in June 2020. Have kept it tidy with gentle trimming since then. The flowers have just turned to berries and I wondered if I should prune it as it’s 3 years old. If so when would be the best time. I want to keep it as a medium shrub keeping it to about 5ft tall and I want it to continue to flower. I’ve read that if I prune at wrong time I will only get foliage. Any advice appreciated. I am in Tayside, Scotland. Thanks 

Posts

  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    If you are pruning for flowers next year then I would do it now as they flower mostly on old wood (some claim they still get the odd flower when cutting back to the ground in spring but generally they need more mature growth). It's even better if you prune when the flowers fade but it's a balancing act as they can put on several feet of growth a year.
    The easiest way to keep them is as a multistemmed shrub where you remove some of the growth, every year, back to the base. 
  • annar_K2hTr1annar_K2hTr1 Posts: 13
    Thanks @thevictorian
    how low should I cut it? 
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    The height you cut depends on how high you want it next year. It's why cutting out a third a year works nicely because you can maintain the height easier but if you need to reduce the whole height then you can cut it back quite hard to promote new growth. Some chop them down in spring right to the ground and they make an impressive size by summer, with more impressive foliage but no flowers. 
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    With Black Beauty, isn't it the leaf you want ?  Flowers as a bonus.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It won't grow quite as rapidly in your location as it will further south, so cutting back as suggested - ie by removing some stems completely, is a good way of keeping it regenerated and at the size you like, but you can certainly take it back by a couple of feet, or even a bit more, if you want. 
    If you do it reasonably randomly, that also helps avoid a 'pudding shaped' specimen which spoils the effect of the shrub/tree. They aren't topiary types of shrubs/trees, so it's about getting a nice balance for what you like to have in your garden. The foliage is lovely on the dark ones :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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