Bambi loves them.

No problem with deer for me. Like other elders these are vigorous shrubs that shoot right up, if you don't want something of that character maybe choose another shrub.

The cut-leaved one is more striking, because of the cut leaves.

I have recently seen specimens that ranged from eight feet tall to twelve feet tall on recent garden tours. I doubt they can be kept particularly small for long....I wish I had room for 'Black Lace'.

Technical note: Black Beauty and Black Lace are selling names, presented without quote marks. The cultivars are instead 'Gerda' and 'Eva', respectively.

For purposes of illustration, here are some general comparisons:

Black Beauty: RoundUp

'Gerda': Glyphosate

The plant is 'Gerda', Black Beauty is a marketing device. The herbicide is glyphosate, RoundUp is a marketing device. Therefore, you can buy glyphosate in products other than those marketed using the RoundUp trademark. Theoretically you could also be offered a 'Gerda' at some point that was not promoted using the Black Beauty trademark.

Bob,

I personally prefer Black Beauty for the overall foliage quality and have no problem keeping mine in bounds. I keep it in the 6' +/- range and have it underplanted with Kaleidoscope abelia for contrast.

Thankyou, everyone. The space that we have in mind may not be able to handle something too big so we will have to think this through carefully.

Bob

On account of the cut leaves 'Eva' is more of an attention grabber. And if your pruning to control size reduces the flower production you will still have the foliage interest resulting from it being both cut- and purple-leaved. I am growing several purple forms on Camano Island, by far the 'Eva' is the standout specimen. I look at the others and think "Too bad your leaves aren't cut".

Thankyou, bboy. I always respect your experience and opinion!

Bob

I think it depends on where they are planted and how they have been treated. I have a 7-year-old black elderberry (can't remember which one) which spent 3 years in a pot. All that time, it was beautiful--I highly recommend keeping them in pots. 4 years ago, I planted the shrub in an un-amended hell strip, and to date it remains a tidy little shrub--maybe 2 feet across.

I have another black elderberry which has spent its 3 years in that same hell strip, and this spring it is 4 feet tall and looking like it wants to grow another 20 feet this year. I see some severe pruning in its future, while the other one may never need a single pruning.