Family:  Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae)

Hardy to Zones 6 to 11

(Sauco, Tapiro) Perennial, deciduous shrub to small tree to 15 feet tall or taller, flowering butter yellow.  Native to canyons and valleys west of the Sierra Nevada from Oregon to Baja and across to Texas, down through the Mesican highlands at elevations up to 5,000 feet, as far south as Yucatan.  Very typical in low elevation sites in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts.  I have to interject that taxonomists are arguing the species designations on the Sambucus ecotypes and trying to dismiss them  as subspecies of S. nigra.  However, anyone familiar with the actual plants can distinguish them.  Mexicana has unique colored flowers and is extremely drought hardy, making it a good choice for California, the American Southwest and any dry, hot environment where shade, fruit, medicine and wildlife habitat are desired.  The tree flourishes in sun to part shade, being the most drought-tolerant of the elderberry clan.  Preferring a well-drained soil, Mexican elderberry will grow in sand, clay, loam or chalk, preferring a slightly alkaline pH.  One of the best wildlife trees of the desert.  These seedlings we’re offering here will be best planted up to gallons and grown on for a year before transplanting to a spacing of 15 feet apart.  Provide regular watering for the first year.  The plant becomes drought-tolerant once it gets its roots down.
Potted shrub, certified organically grown