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Family: Caprifoliaceae Genus: Sambucus (sam-BYOO-kus) (Info) Species: nigra (NY-gruh) (Info) Cultivar: Black Beauty Additional cultivar information: (PP12305; Black Beauty™, Gerda) Hybridized by Tobutt; Year of Registration or Introduction: 1999
Hardiness: USDA Zone 3a: to -39.9 °C (-40 °F) USDA Zone 3b: to -37.2 °C (-35 °F) USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 °C (-30 °F) USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 °C (-25 °F) USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 °C (-20 °F) USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 °C (-15 °F) USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 °C (-10 °F) USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 °C (-5 °F) USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F) USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F) USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F) USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F) USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F) USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F) USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 °C (30 °F) USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 °C (35 °F)
Sun Exposure: Full Sun Sun to Partial Shade Light Shade
Danger: Parts of plant are poisonous if ingested
Bloom Color: Pale Pink
Bloom Time: Mid Summer
Foliage: Grown for foliage Deciduous Dark/Black
Other details: This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds Flowers are fragrant Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Soil pH requirements: 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)
Patent Information: Patented
Propagation Methods: From woody stem cuttings From semi-hardwood cuttings From hardwood cuttings From hardwood heel cuttings
Seed Collecting: N/A: plant does not set seed, flowers are sterile, or plants will not come true from seed
Planted late summer 2008 at 24" tall. It over-wintered great through one of the Portland area's more snowy and cold winters with temps near the teens. Sprouted fine this spring 2009 with over 3' of stem growth before June 1st, and loaded with big flowers the last half of May with more opening into June. Foliage looks great, no pest problems. Planted on the south side of house in full exposure, 2" of mulch. 5' tall now, expecting 10' next year at this rate.
On Sep 6, 2008, BlackDogKurt from Seymour, CT wrote:
This shrub has never grown more than a foot tall for me and instead wants to spread out horizontally despite my attempts to get it to grow upwards. It has also never bloomed for me either.
On Mar 20, 2008, peteunia from Clear Spring, MD wrote:
I have had 2 Black Beauties since 2002. They grow very well in my zone 5 climate but they have yet to bloom. I think the first year I had one or two blooms on one and then the other but nothing since. I heard you were supposed to prune them after flowering but if they never flower then what. How do I get them to bloom.
On Jan 19, 2008, Chickadee12 from Brookfield, CT (Zone 5b) wrote:
I love this plant to death, but unfortunately so do the slugs! I wish for it to grow big and beautiful, but I can't get the slugs to go away. I hope I can come up with something this year, I would hate to lose this beautiful plant!
On Jun 12, 2007, braun06 from Hanna City, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:
I have seen great ones in nurseries but have been very unimpressed with it in my own yard. In full sun it still always remained green with spots of purple. I have some Black Lace and have been so impressed with them I killed my Black Beauty. I wouldnt recommend this plant personally but im sure there is a niche for some people to like it. The flowers are pink but are around for maybe a week. All around its still just an elderberry to me. Black Lace is far more ornamental. This plant was quite common in nurseries the year before the release of Black Lace, now this one seems to have dissapeared in favor of Black Lace.
Regional...
This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:
, San Jose, California Susanville, California East Canaan, Connecticut Seymour, Connecticut Boise, Idaho (2 reports) Hanna City, Illinois Portland, Maine Gaithersburg, Maryland Lansing, Michigan Lincoln Park, Michigan Omaha, Nebraska Ithaca, New York Elizabeth City, North Carolina Bucyrus, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio Tulsa, Oklahoma Beaverton, Oregon Portland, Oregon West Linn, Oregon North Augusta, South Carolina Lexington, Virginia Lynchburg, Virginia Kalama, Washington Seattle, Washington Vancouver, Washington Charleston, West Virginia
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