Dwarf Elder Serenade

A new, brilliantly coloured dwarf elder cultivar, Sambucus nigra Serenade is a medium-sized, deciduous shrub, with an erect, well-branched habit, a good specimen for the small garden and with three seasons of interest. The leaves are heavily dissected, rather like a Japanese maple’s, and emerge pinkish-red, turning through bronze to a bright lime-green, before turning red again in the autumn. Large, flat heads of honey-scented, creamy flowers appear in June and July, followed by juicy black berries which attract birds – and home wine-makers! Dwarf elder Serenade is easy to grow, but benefits from a generous mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure (not touching the stems) in early spring.