Lemony Lace® Elderberry

Lemony Lace® Elderberry earns its place in the landscape through a combination of extraordinary foliage texture and season-long color interest that few shrubs can rival. The deeply dissected, pinnate leaves emerge in spring with bright golden yellow tones edged in red, then mature to a vibrant chartreuse that catches and holds light beautifully through summer and into fall. The effect — an irregularly mounding, feathery mass of almost threadlike foliage — draws frequent comparisons to Japanese maple and offers a compelling warm-toned counterpart to its sibling Black Lace®. Cone-shaped panicles of small white flowers appear in mid-spring before the foliage fully expands, followed by clusters of ornamental red berries that ripen in late summer and attract birds through fall. Note that unlike the fruit of Sambucus nigra, these red berries are not edible and should not be consumed.

Lemony Lace® grows as a compact, freely branching deciduous shrub reaching 4–7 feet tall and wide in Zones 4–7, making it roughly half the size of conventional red elderberries and well suited to home-scale gardens and mixed borders. It performs best in full sun in northern climates and appreciates afternoon shade in warmer regions, where excessive heat can cause foliage scorch — a sensitivity that was deliberately selected against during the cultivar's development. Adaptable to a range of well-drained soils and tolerant of occasional moisture fluctuation, it requires minimal fertilization and only selective pruning to maintain its naturally attractive form. Its deer resistance and cold hardiness make it a reliable performer across a wide geographic range.

Photo Credit: Proven Winners

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