Shrub · Rosaceae
Black Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
Glossy-leaved and cold-hardy, with dark, edible berries from spring flower to deep winter, chokeberry asks little in return.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 3–8
3–8 ft · 0.9–2.4 m
Overview
Black chokeberry is a native shrub carried by glossy foliage and clusters of dark, edible fruit. In spring it opens flat sprays of small white flowers, each with a ring of pale petals. Through summer the leaves stay smooth and glossy green, and as fall arrives they flush deep red and purple across the whole shrub. The berries follow as small, round, blackish-purple beads that ripen in late summer and cling to the bare twigs well into winter.
It sits in the rose family and bears no relation to chokecherry, the plant its name calls to mind. The difference is worth knowing, because chokecherry is poisonous and chokeberry is not. The dark Aronia berries are edible and rich in antioxidants, with a sharply astringent flesh when raw, which is why they are usually cooked down into juice, jam, or jelly.
Little troubles this shrub. Its wood takes cold to -40°F (-40°C), the roots cope with wet ground or a dry spell, and it grows in sand, loam, or clay alike. The one feature to plan for is the suckering root, which runs outward to lift a colony of new stems if left to its own devices.
Care
The short version: full sun draws out the heaviest fruit and the deepest fall color, ordinary to moist soil on the acidic side suits it, and the established shrub asks for very little.
Light
Full sun draws the heaviest set of dark berries and the most intense red and purple fall color from the leaves. The shrub still grows on in partial shade, but the flower sprays thin and the berry crop drops off where the light is low.
Water
Steady, medium moisture brings out the fullest bloom and the heaviest fruit. Past that the roots are remarkably adaptable, holding through wet, boggy ground or an occasional dry spell once established, so a soak every 5 to 10 days suits most plantings.
Soil
The roots take to sand, loam, or clay, wet or well drained, and even push through compacted or salty ground. The plant leans acidic, around pH 5.1 to 6.5, but tolerates higher readings, so most garden soil will do.
Temperature
The wood is genuinely tough, hardy across USDA zones 3 to 8 and unmarked by temperatures from -40°F to 95°F (-40°C to 35°C). Cold leaves no scar on chokeberry.
Humidity
Plain outdoor air suits the foliage, so there is no figure to reach. Air slipping freely between the stems matters more, since a crowded, damp canopy is what lets leaf spot freckle the leaves.
Feeding
It is a light feeder that often takes nothing at all. On thin soil, a single spring scattering of balanced granular fertilizer is enough to green the leaves.
Pruning
The flower buds form on old wood, so any shaping belongs right after the white sprays fade. Cut the oldest, woodiest stems to the base now and then to push up fresh growth, and lift the root suckers to hold the colony of stems in check.
Repotting
A potted shrub rarely needs moving on. Step it up only when the roots circle the wall of the pot, water runs straight through, or the new shoots stall.
Size & spacing
A mature shrub stands 3 to 8 feet (91 to 244 cm) tall and spreads its stems 2 to 6 feet (61 to 183 cm) wide. Give each plant room to fill out and air to thread between the branches, with extra space where it is left to sucker into a colony.
When to plant
Chokeberry marks the year in its own colors. The small white flowers open in May and June, the round dark berries ripen from August into September and hang on through winter, and a new plant takes hold best when set out in spring after the last frost or early in fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Late winter, after 2-3 months of cold moist stratification of cleaned seed
- Plant: Spring after last frost, or early fall
- Harvest: White flowers in spring (May to June); blackish-purple fruit ripens late summer to early autumn (August to September) and persists into winter
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Chokeberry gives little trouble, and the thing you are most likely to notice is its own crop of new stems rather than any pest. Look over the glossy leaves and slim twigs now and then for a passing fungus, and match what you see below before any cutting.
Twig tips and small fruit blackening at the ends
When the slender twig tips turn black and the young berries pucker and shrink, with sunken cankers ringing the spot where the death starts, the cause is a twig and fruit blight fungus. Cut each affected twig back well into clean, pale wood and destroy the prunings, then wipe the blades between cuts so the fungus rides nowhere. A vigorous shrub with open, well-spaced stems throws the disease off best.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy blighted twigs well below affected tissue
- Clean pruning tools between cuts
- Remove and discard infected fruit
A ring of slim new stems rising around the base
Those upright young stems crowding the parent are root suckering, a growth habit and not a disease. Beneath the soil the shrub runs roots out sideways, and each one pushes a fresh shoot up to the light, the process that knits it into a thicket in the wild. Dig the suckers out at the root as they break ground, sever the runners by mowing around the planting, or pick a reduced-suckering cultivar where a clean outline matters.
Fix:
- Dig or cut out unwanted suckers at the root as they appear
- Mow or shallow-cultivate around the planting to sever spreading shoots
- Choose a reduced-suckering cultivar for formal landscapes
Brown to purple flecks marking the leaf surface
Small brown and purplish marks freckling the glossy leaves are fungal leaf spot, which sets in where the foliage stays wet and air hangs still in the canopy. Each fleck starts as a tiny dot and widens across the blade as the season runs on, and the most spotted leaves yellow and fall before the rest. Rake the dropped leaves away, thin the crowded stems so air slips through, and water at the base so the leaf surfaces dry.
Fix:
- Rake up and dispose of fallen infected leaves
- Improve air circulation by thinning crowded stems
- Avoid overhead watering that wets the foliage
Toxicity
There is nothing to fear in the plant itself, since every part of black chokeberry is safe. The dark berries are edible for people and a favorite of wildlife, with no toxin to threaten pets or livestock. The single caution is one of names, so keep this shrub clear of the unrelated, poisonous chokecherry.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
No part of the shrub holds a toxin a cat need fear. A bite of leaf or berry might bring a little drool or a mild stomach upset, as any indigestible plant would, but nothing poisonous is at work.
Dogs Safe
Dogs are safe with it. The dark berries taste sharp and astringent enough that most turn away after one mouthful, and a larger helping may loosen the stomach for a day, yet no poison is present.
Horses Safe
Horses can browse the leaves and dark fruit without harm. The plant to keep separate is chokecherry, an unrelated species whose wilted leaves and pits are genuinely dangerous to them.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits browse chokeberry without harm. They may gnaw the young shoots and strip thin bark in winter, which damages the stems more than it troubles the rabbit.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can graze the foliage safely. None of the cyanide that makes its chokecherry namesake a real risk to grazing animals is held in this plant.
Birds Safe
Birds strip the fruit eagerly, and it nourishes them. The dark berries cling to the bare twigs deep into winter, so thrushes, waxwings, and others feed on them once easier food has gone.
People Safe
The ripe black berries are good to eat and prized for their antioxidants. Raw, their flesh puckers the mouth hard, which is why most people cook them down into juice, jam, or jelly first.
No special handling precautions are required. Do not confuse this plant with chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), an unrelated plant whose foliage and seeds are cyanogenic.
Varieties
A few named selections stand apart, whether the draw is heavy fruit, a fierce fall color, or a smaller frame for a tight spot.
Viking
A compact form grown commercially because its stems hang thick with so many large, dark berries.
Autumn Magic
Grown for leaves that gleam glossy through summer and then burn brilliant red and purple in fall.
Iroquois Beauty (Morton)
A dwarf form whose low mound holds at about 2 to 3 feet tall, small enough for a tight spot.
Ground Hog (UCONNAM012)
A very low, wide-spreading selection that hugs the soil almost like a ground cover.
How to propagate
Chokeberry multiplies with ease, and the freely rooting suckers make division the plainest route of all.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer, taking softwood cuttings in about July · 4 to 8 weeks to root, then one season to establish
Soft, pliable green shoots cut in midsummer, around July, root readily, and a dip of rooting hormone on the cut end helps them along. Held in humid air, the bare stem ends push out fine white roots within 4 to 8 weeks and then thicken up over the following season.
DivisionEasy
Early spring or fall · One growing season
Because the shrub throws up so many rooted suckers, division is the simplest route. In early spring or fall, lift a sucker with its own pale roots intact, sever it from the parent, replant it, and it establishes over a single growing season.
SeedModerate
Sow after cold stratification; outdoors in fall or indoors in late winter · Several weeks to germinate after stratification; 2 to 3 years to fruiting
Squeeze the small seeds from the ripe black fruit, clean them, and give them 2 to 3 months of cold, moist stratification before sowing outdoors in fall or indoors in late winter. Tiny seedlings break the surface a few weeks past that cold rest, but the plant takes 2 to 3 years to set its first fruit, so this is the slow way.
Myths
Black chokeberry is poisonous like chokecherry, so the berries should never be eaten.
The dark fruit looks ominous, but black chokeberry is a separate plant from chokecherry, which is a Prunus that does hold cyanide in its leaves and pits. The Aronia berries are edible, only fiercely astringent, and people cook them into juice, jam, and jelly. The name catches the way the raw flesh puckers the mouth, not any poison in the berry.