Content
A beautiful ornamental shrub is successfully used in landscape design. Black Elderberry Black Lace, according to its characteristics, is suitable for decorating gardens in many climatic zones. This is a unique and beautiful variety of an ornamental plant, with a rich aroma and benefits of berries and flowers, which are successfully used in folk medicine. In addition, it bears fruit with delicious berries that are great for consumption.
Breeding history of the variety
The name of the variety is translated as black lace. This decorative variety is known recently and came to Russia from Europe. In the Moscow region, this variety has a second name - "Eva". Elderberry Black Lace both in the photo and on the site looks picturesque, and there are no difficulties in caring for her.
Description of Elderberry Black Lace
It is a deciduous shrub that grows vertically. It reaches a height of 2-10 meters. The branches are dense, but very thin. While the branches are young, they are green in color and in appearance resemble more stems than full-fledged branches of a tree. The leaves are long, composed of an odd number of individual leaflets.
Elderberry begins to bloom in late spring and continues until late August. Inflorescences of white and light beige are formed on the tree. The inflorescences reach 20 cm in diameter. After flowering, at the end of summer, the berries begin to ripen. These are black, small-sized berries with red pulp and seeds. During flowering, the elderberry develops a strong aroma, which, when close to it, becomes even unbearable for some.
Recommended growing areas: Moscow region, North-West and most of Russia, with the exception of South and Central Siberia.
Variety characteristic
Black Elderberry Black Lace is used not only as an ornamental shrub, but also as a berry shrub with healthy and tasty fruits. The variety in question has its own characteristics that determine its distribution area and options for use.
Drought resistance, frost resistance
This is an unpretentious plant, quite resistant to frost. But watering must be provided to the shrub in a timely manner. In hot summer, water should be done at least once a week. Pouring is also not recommended, but the soil under the bushes should be moist. So the elderberry will bear fruit better and look beautiful.
There are indications that the shrub, with proper care and a snowy winter, can withstand frosts down to -25 ° C.
Productivity and fruiting
The elderberry of the variety in question begins to bear fruit at the end of summer. Fruiting lasts until the end of September. Since more often the plant is used for decorative purposes, there is no exact data on the yield, but the taste of the berries, according to reviews, is good. The variety is not prone to shedding and with a long exposure to the sun, the berries feel great. It is important that a shrub in the shade will not bear fruit at all.
Scope of the fruit
Compotes and preserves are made from elderberries. But most often, berries are used as cosmetics. Elderberry jam tea has diaphoretic properties and helps with colds in winter.Dry elderberries are excellent at repelling rodents. And also homemade wine and some types of medicinal tinctures are prepared from elderberry.
Disease and pest resistance
Plants are not resistant to the following diseases:
- fusarium;
- powdery mildew;
- anthracnose;
- phyllosticosis.
Among the pests for elderberry, the spider mite is the most dangerous. And also aphids often attack the elderberry. Proven fungicides and insecticides should be used to control and prevent diseases and pests. This will help prevent leaf curling and plant death.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Among the advantages of this variety, it should be noted: a wide area of application, use for both decorative and culinary purposes, as well as unpretentiousness in care and in choosing a place for planting.
A relative disadvantage of Black Lace elderberry can be considered a low resistance to some diseases and pests, which is fully compensated for by competently carried out prevention.
Planting and caring for black elderberry Black Lace
To obtain a harvest and a beautiful shrub on the site, it is important to follow the rules of agricultural technology. With proper care, the shrub can live for more than 30 years and delight others with its beauty.
Recommended timing
Planting should be carried out either in the spring, when the threat of return frosts is completely gone, or in the fall. In the fall, it is recommended to plant the plant 1.5 months before the onset of the first cold weather. So the shrub will have time to take root and calmly survive the winter.
Choosing the right place
The site for planting this elderberry variety should be sunny and with minimal access to the wind. Elderberry does not like winds, and therefore, even in the wild, it tries to grow near hedges and slopes. The eastern and northern sides of the site are considered optimal. Elderberries have no particular complaints about the soil; they take root on almost any soil. But the optimal growth is obtained on slightly alkaline soils.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
The optimum seedling should not exceed 25 cm in height. There must be at least 2 healthy kidneys on the trunk. The seedling must be planted in a pot with moistened soil and a drainage system. When the seedling sprouts, it can be transplanted to a pre-selected place.
Landing algorithm
For planting, it is necessary to prepare the soil and directly the hole for the seedling. The hole should be 50-60 cm in diameter. Add to this recess:
- 50 g phosphorus;
- 50 g of potash fertilizers;
- 8 kg of humus.
Mix all these fertilizers with garden soil and partially fill in the seedling hole. The rooted seedling should be placed on this mass and sprinkled with the rest. It is important that the root collar should remain on the surface. Immediately after planting, it is necessary to water the shrub, having previously tamped the ground.
Elderberry follow-up care
For proper growth and reproduction, Blake Lace elderberry must be provided with timely and competent care.
Watering should be carried out once a week if there was no normal rainfall during this time. If the weather is too rainy, it is recommended to mulch the soil around the trunk.
And also, loosening should be included in the care so that the root system constantly breathes. After the shrub has started flowering, it is necessary to feed the plant with complex fertilizer.
In the fall, it is important to prepare the elderberry for wintering:
- harvest;
- in dry summer, the bush should be watered before wintering;
- add fungicides in October;
- in the middle of autumn, process the trunk with lime.
The plant should be formed in the form of a shrub. The trimming order is as follows:
- In the spring, the upper branches should be reduced by 1 bud, and the lateral ones by 5 buds.
- A ring shape is applied to old branches.
- Once every three years, it is imperative to rejuvenate the shrub, almost completely cutting off the shoots, leaving only hemp shoots 15 cm long.
How elderberry reproduces
Elderberry propagation occurs in three ways:
- Layers. Gives the greatest result, and therefore is most often used. It is necessary to bend the young elderberry branch to the ground and sprinkle with fertile soil. The end of the escape must remain at the top. You can plant it next year, when the shoot takes root.
- Cuttings. The most common option. Cuttings must be harvested in advance, and rooted before planting.
- Seeds. In order to propagate the shrub by the seed method, it is necessary to purchase seeds from the store, since those collected from the berries do not retain the characteristics of the variety and the parent plant.
The use of elderberry in landscape design
Most often, the black elderberry of the Black Lace variety is used and has reviews precisely for decorating the landscape. The shrub is excellent for landscaping areas and adjoining territories, and is also used in alpine slides. Due to the growth rate, it is successfully used to create hedges. But in this case, the shrub requires constant pruning. If you properly follow and combine it with other plants, you can create flower beds with different levels and micro-borders.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
There are several ways to prevent diseases and pests from developing on the shrub. In the fall, it is necessary to spray the plant with fungicides. In the spring and summer, it is imperative to treat the elderberry bush with insecticides.
And it is also necessary to use drugs that, according to the instructions, are supposed to be applied to the root collar.
The frequency of various treatments is 50 days.
Conclusion
Black Elderberry Black Lace came from Europe and is used for landscape design throughout Russia with great success. Of the many advantages, it is worth highlighting unpretentiousness and frost resistance. The disadvantages include susceptibility to certain diseases and pests. But with proper care, this shrub will be an excellent decoration for the site, and the berries will also come in handy for jam.
