Sambucus Nigeria black beauty pruning

My sambucus Nigeria is a few years old now and every summer I prune it as it starts to grow really tall... This year I decided to just leave it in order to see just how big it was going to grow, and how it was going to grow. It's now starting to take over and just wanted some advice about pruning. Is it ok to prune now and, if so, how much should I take off. I have had a few flowers this year, but only about three or four!
Thank you....
Mark

 

I prune mine hard in early Spring.

 

I was planning to do that but am I ok to prune it now? I don't want to kill it; I just want to control it a little... :-)

 

I reckon a light trim will be fine. Probably best not to leave exposed cut surfaces over winter, thus best not to cut back into anything significant. But its a guess based on pruning of these things generally being done in the spring.

 

Thanks x

 

If you prune hard back in early spring you will get magnificent over-sized foliage but no flowers as you will cut away all the ripened wood from last year (which bears the flowers) and the plant will not be able to replace it before June when it flowers.

If you cut it moderately now, some of this spring's wood will be left on, plus it will grow a bit more before autumn. Both these types of branches will probably have flowers next June. Ideally, it should have been pruned fairly firmly straight after it finished flowering, to give it the longest opportunity to ripen more growth. But they were late this year anyway, you'll probably be OK pruning lightly now.

If you only got a few flowers this year, I'm wondering exactly when you pruned it last year. Was it before or after flowering?

I used to cut mine in early March, but sometimes I leave it to get the blossom. can't decide which way I like it best!

 

I can't honestly remember when I cut it back last year, but I would probably say I gave it a prune mid summer and then again early spring, almost down to nothing. Therefore, I am going to go out right now and cut some of the longer, wild stems back and then will leave it and see what happens next year. After flowering next year, I will then cut it back if needs be. Is this the general rule with shrubs? Should they be pruned after flowering? I have a buddleia ready to flower now...and I never know when and how to cut that back either. Thanks.... Will give it a go now!

 

That explains why it didn't flower much if you pruned hard in spring. Sounds like your plan for now is good!

I always try to prune any flowering shrub hard, straight after flowering. this gives it the maximum time to form new growth ready for next year's flowering.

As buddleia carries on through the autumn, if you dead head it, pruning hard in February before any growth starts is fine. Don't leave it till March in case there's a mild spell and the buds start to open, that's just a waste of the plant's energy.

Word of warning - after a very hard pruning sambucus, buddleia and others take a while to form new tiny buds and get going. Don't panic, tough cookies like these are very hard to kill! Just wait.

 

Well i have given it a cut back and am just gonna leave it now for the rest of the year. Hopefully I will see significantly more flowers next year...watch this space! Thanks for all the advice...