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Cutting sambucus nigra back
in Plants
Hi everyone,
Apologies if this question has been asked a million times before! I have a Sambucus Negra Black Lace which looked a bit sad last year. These forums suggested I trim it back quite aggressively in February to about 10cm in height, and it will flourish.
The plant has already started budding, with a few small deep purple buds; have I left it too late or should I just go for it?
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Elders are always very early to come into bud. Don't worry, it will still produce lots of new shoots when you cut it back.
thanks, much appreciated.
As landgirl says it will be fine, the problem I have is remembering to keep it cut down it grows at a right rate.
this one is in a pot on my balcony. It never grew too fast, fortunately. But it did start to look limp and lifeless last year, so fingers crossed this will give it a new lease of life.
greg, I shoved a piece that had broken off into a pot and it grew, however it didn't do too well after a couple of years, I assume they are greedy feeders and I couldn't give it what was required no matter how large the pot. Eventually I had to plant it in another garden, but I made the mistake of not putting it in a sunny place and it started to revert to green rather than black.
Maybe consider taking a cutting from your existing one and start a new one that might look good for a few years