Black chokeberry 'Viking'
Aronia melanocarpa 'Viking' · Rosaceae
White flowers in spring, heavy crops of large, glossy black berries in late summer, and brilliant red leaves in autumn.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early May to late May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around black chokeberry 'Viking'
The planner designed this bed around black chokeberry 'Viking' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why black chokeberry 'Viking' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Black chokeberry 'Viking' × 1, white
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 5, purple
- 3 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 26, pink
- 4 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 5 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 5, yellow
- 6 English lavender 'Hidcote' × 3, purple
- 7 Schubert's allium × 4, pink
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 9 Allium 'Globemaster' × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' (4½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for three weeks. From early May to late May.
- Opens the season. In its first week nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 7 groups (71%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 5 kinds, from late May. Verbena 'Homestead Purple' flowers longest, for 21 weeks.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where black chokeberry 'Viking' goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
Bred in Europe for fruit, which is now sold as a health food. It is as ornamental as any shrub in autumn. Tough, adaptable to wet or dry soil, and free of pests.
- Edible landscaping
- Autumn colour
- Hedges and rain gardens
What to plant with black chokeberry 'Viking'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Winterberry: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Virginia sweetspire: takes over when it finishes, flowering from early June.
Questions about black chokeberry 'Viking'
Does black chokeberry 'Viking' need sun or shade?
Black chokeberry 'Viking' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does black chokeberry 'Viking' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does black chokeberry 'Viking' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late May to early June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid May to late May |
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Early May to mid May |
| Zone 7 | Late April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to early May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should black chokeberry 'Viking' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many black chokeberry 'Viking' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is black chokeberry 'Viking' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat black chokeberry 'Viking'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after black chokeberry 'Viking'?
Black chokeberry 'Viking' is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Virginia sweetspire: from early June to early July, 5 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Delphinium: from late June to mid July, 5 ft tall.
What does black chokeberry 'Viking' look like in winter?
Black chokeberry 'Viking' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is black chokeberry 'Viking' good for bees and butterflies?
Black chokeberry 'Viking' is visited by pollinators, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Aronia
- Black chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa
- Black chokeberry 'Low Scape Mound' Aronia melanocarpa 'Low Scape Mound'
- Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America, NC
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Drought, wet soil
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.