Hard pruning elder?

I have a large (about 15ft tall) elder in my garden. I'm pretty sure it's just common elder, Sambucus nigra.

I don't want to kill it, but would like to bring it back down to size now.

Would it stand hard pruning, say down to 6 ft, or even almost down to the ground?
And if so a) how long would it take to re-establish to a decent flowering size and b) what's the best time of year to do it.

I don't know its age, but it was already fully grown and old looking when I moved in 6 years ago so it must be getting on a bit.

Many thanks!

 

Hi Andrew, cutting back your elder hard will do it no harm
and it will regrow quickly, they can grow pretty big, so
pruning it hard will help keep it smaller and easier to handle.
Prune March/April back to ground level.
this link might help?.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/821.shtml

Pete :gnthb:

 

Hi,

It will stand being cut to around 4-6 inches from the ground.



Beautiful plant.

 

No expert here Andrew, but I've always had Elder in my garden.
From my experience you can cut it to any size you like, any time of year you like and there it is - back up there any size it likes.
I find it indestructible.

 

Thanks all.

Just been out and sized up the job. Have decided to give it a miss. The damn thing is HUGE! We're talking tree surgery, not pruning.

Very attractive thing anyway, despite it's size, and gives me masses of flowers and fruit. I think I'll leave it be.