Digging deeperPlant Library

Other Names:  European Red Elder

Description:

A refined yet durable garden shrub featuring beautiful golden foliage all season long and creamy white flowers in spring followed by bright red berries; compact and upright habit, though rather coarse in winter, a reliable color accent for the garden

Ornamental Features

Sutherland Gold Elder features showy clusters of lightly-scented creamy white flowers held atop the branches in mid spring. It has attractive yellow deciduous foliage. The deeply cut ferny compound leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color. The red fruits are held in abundance in spectacular clusters in early summer.

Landscape Attributes

Sutherland Gold Elder is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sutherland Gold Elder is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Sutherland Gold Elder will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.