Sambuccus nigra

[Arcy]

Hello,

Hoping I am in the right place, I would ask a silly question: is the Sambuccus nigra, i.e. the Elder, a tree or a shrub, please? I have none around and have never seen one, except on Google where it seems to be a shrub but my context seems to imply it is a tree... Please help.

Thanks,

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Arcy

Hello,

Hoping I am in the right place, I would ask a silly question: is the Sambuccus nigra, i.e. the Elder, a tree or a shrub, please? I have none around and have never seen one, except on Google where it seems to be a shrub but my context seems to imply it is a tree... Please help.

Thanks,

My attitude is that if it grows above 3m then it's entitled to be called a tree - elder, easily does that. Others might say that it has to have a single stem/trunk of a certain thickness to be called a tree whereas elder frequently is multi-stemmed and seldom has a thick trunk.

So maybe it depends on the individual - look at Crataegus, hawthorns, normally these are shrubs but they can, in the right situation, grown into trees!

So, it can be whatever you want!

[Arcy]

Thank you very much. They have trunks so they should be entitled to be called trees...

Have a great evening!

[Pete W]

I have 5 in the garden. As said they can grow into trees but are more like a shrub. Ours are about 5 feet tall, all this years growth. You cut them back to 2 or 3 buds (about 12 inches) from base in spring..

If left yes they would become an Elder Tree in time...

[colinaj]

Botanically They are all vascular plants, trees and shrubs are just vernacular names