Illustration
Marge Elderberry
Sambucus nigra 'Marge'
Also called marge european elderberry
Marge Elderberry blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Marge Elderberry
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Expect it to reach about 9 ft tall and 6 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years (a house reading).
No toxicity note is on file for Marge Elderberry. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Marge Elderberry
Plant Marge Elderberry in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Marge Elderberry get?
9 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult6 ftwideSee Marge Elderberry in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Marge Elderberry
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Marge Elderberry about 6 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Marge Elderberry to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Marge Elderberry's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 10 published sources on September 26, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Plant Addictsthe queue's storeheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, pests and toxicity
- burntridgenursery.comBurnt Ridge Nursery (Onalaska, Washington)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color, soil and diseases
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Findersun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxsun, water, bloom months and color, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.govThomas et al. 2015, Acta Horticulturae 1061, full text (the PMC author...height, spread, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and pests
- newearthnursery.comNew Earth Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, bloom months and color, soil and pests
- bearworks.missouristate.eduMissouri State University BearWorks (Thomas et al. 2015, Acta Horticul...height, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and pests
- beautifulbeginningsnursery.comBeautiful Beginnings Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, diseases and toxicity
- raintreenursery.comRaintree Nurseryheight, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
- prairiegardens.orgPrairie Gardens (Bon Accord, Alberta)height, spread, water and toxicity
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.