I have just been given a golden elder (Sambucus recmosa aurea if
anyone wants the exact details) which I am about to transplant to my
garden.

This particular specimen has so far lived on a patio garden in a pot
and rarely if ever been pruned so is it a good idea to prune it on
transplanting or would it be too much stress on the plant to do both
at the same time?

TIA

You can transplant and prune your Sambucus racemosa now,
however pruning will mean you will lose this years flowers and
later the berries.
Choose a frost free period between now and early March if you
do decide to prune cutting your elder right down to within three to
four inches from the top of the soil.
I've always wanted to grow S. nigra but haven't found one in
any of my local garden centres.

M.R.
----
"JB" wrote:
snip
I have just been given a golden elder
This particular specimen has so far lived on a patio garden in a pot
and rarely if ever been pruned so is it a good idea to prune it on
transplanting or would it be too much stress on the plant to do both
at the same time?

Mike Roscoe wrote:
[...]
I've always wanted to grow S. nigra but haven't found one in
any of my local garden centres.
[...]

Lor' bless yer, guv'nor! Not the kind of thing GCs are much interested
in. Just whip a cutting or two from the nearest roadside -- you might
even succeed if you do it now. Or dig up a seedling from the same place.
Or grow it from seed: I've done that, and it's very easy if you protect
the babies from slugs.

I once rooted an elder cutting by accident in, I think, March: I'd
dropped some paving slabs and didn't move them till May. Underneath, I
found a broken-off bit of elder which had produced a quite convincing
root, which could have been grown on if I'd wanted it. But it would be
worth waiting till leaf-fall: that way you can scout out the local
elders and tie a marker onto the one whose scent or berries you like
best, as the wild forms differ a lot.

--
Mike.