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British sensation reaches North America

Sambucus  BLACK BEAUTY

Black Beauty (Sambucus nigra) is a new ornamental elderberry with incredible dark foliage all season long.  Beautiful delicate pink lace-cap flowers (up to six inches across) with a lemon fragrance cover the plant in mid summer followed by berries in the fall.

Sambucus nigra Black Beauty is the result of a special breeding program at HRI East Malling. This in itself is unique because East Malling is best know for its work with dwarf fruit tree under-stocks.  Black Beauty is the first ornamental plant to come out of their breeding program.

Black Beauty will be available through mail order nurseries in the Spring of 2002.  It will also, be available as a perennial through many of the best garden centers in the country.  You will find these garden centers listed under resources at 

Characteristics of Black Beauty:

• Intense dark burgundy, purple foliage.  Darker than any Physocarpus currently available.

• Foliage color is consistent from Spring through the fall.

• The first Elderberry to produce pink flowers with a lemon fragrance.

• Flowers in June-July.

• The purple-black berries are suitable for producing jam or wine.

• Hardy into zone 4.

• Tolerates a wide range of soil types.

• Grows in full sun or partial shade.

• Can be used effectively in the perennial or the shrub border.

• Fantastic as the feature element in a container.

 For more information please contact Spring Meadow Nursery, at 800-633-8859 or tim@springmeadownursery.com.