Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
About as tough as fruiting shrubs get — takes wet ground or dry, and pays for it in berries that want cooking rather than eating.
Light Full sun for the best fruit, though partial shade is tolerated.
Water Very tough once established, taking wet ground and dry alike.
Height 2 m
Spread 4 ft 11 in
Spacing 150 cm
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 4 ft 11 in
- In-row spacing
- 4 ft 11 in
- Between rows
- 10 ft 10 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Growing
- Type
- Shrub · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Full sun for the best fruit, though partial shade is tolerated.
- Watering
- Very tough once established, taking wet ground and dry alike.
- Feeding
- A light feed in spring with a compost mulch over it.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- May
- Pruning
- Cut out the oldest third of the stems each winter.
Through the year
- Apr–May Bud Break
- May–Aug Flowering
- Aug–Aug Fruit Set
- Aug–Oct Harvest
- Oct–Dec Leaf Fall
- Jan–Apr Leaf Fall
Companions
Blueberries, Currants, Comfrey
Pests & problems
- Generally trouble-free No notable pest or disease problems when grown in the right conditions — one of the easy ones.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com