4 inches is barely beyond germination stage!! This is a widely available plant......is there a reason why you went with such a tiny specimen?

IME, the newest foliage on larger plants will often have a greenish tint to them that deepens to purple as the leaves mature. Planting in much shade will also have a similar greening effect. But that heavily dissected foliage is standard for Black Lace and I know of no other cultivars with similarly dissected leaves so guessing no mistake about the cultivar.

@gardengal48 In my area it is not available at all. I went with the only mail-order source that was not sold out.

I will wait for the leaves to change color and update this thread later.

If it really is a seedling it might not come true to its parent. However, it looks like a cutting so it should be an exact copy if it genuinely came from Black Lace.

I know of no other cultivars with similarly dissected leaves

The green version is named f. laciniata, a designation (f.) indicating repeated sightings of genetically separate individuals. I used to have a fern leaf elder here, a local gardening friend still does. The cut leaves of Black Lace ('Eva') come from f. laciniata:

`Eva` resulted from a breeding
programme conducted at Horticulture Research International, East Malling, West Malling, Kent in England. The two first generation crosses (148 and 149) were made in 1988 between `Laciniata` (unpatented) and `Guincho Purple` (unpatented), and between
`Laciniata` and `Aurea`, (unpatented)

patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=PP15575.PN.&OS=PN/PP15575&RS=PN/PP15575

@Embothrium so how do I know that I have the green leaf variety? At what point are the leaves supposed to turn purple?

So my Black Lace Elderberry is making some progress, but it has some unusual growth habits I wanted to clarify. The main stem appears to have just died, and all the growth is coming from side stems to that. Additionally, any time this plant goes without water and the soil is dry for even two days, it kills off one of the minor stems entirely.

Is it normal for this species to have so much dieback, particularly on the main stem? Should I just cut the main stem off completely, and maybe if I do that back to the point of the living stem it will promote another offshoot?

P.S., Notice in the second photo the ends of the largest leaves are starting to turn purple.

P.P.S., I have a "Wandering Jew" planted in this planter, which is probably a failed experiment because it is such a fast-growing and dominant plant. But that is the dark purple leaf you see around the edges.

Indianagirl, your Black Lace is a beauty!!

Wastes, elderberry, in my experience, isn’t very happy in dry soil. Additionally, plants in pots are even more sensitive to water. Since yours is in a planter, I’d say it’s normal for it to respond negatively if it’s dry for two days. Don‘t keep it soggy, but try not to let it dry out.

the main stem may have succumbed to a sort of borer. I’ve had that happen frequently. Nasty little things.