Black chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa · Rosaceae
White flowers in spring, glossy leaves that turn wine red in autumn, and clusters of black, edible, very astringent berries. It grows in almost any soil.
- Size
- 5 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
The planner designed this bed around black chokeberry 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 stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Black chokeberry × 1, white
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 5, purple
- 3 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 19, pink
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Foxglove beardtongue × 5, white
- 6 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 7 Anise hyssop × 3, lavender
- 8 Hardy gladiolus × 5, pink
- 9 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
- 10 Red spider lily × 7, red
Why this plant
- A classic partner for little bluestem. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does little bluestem.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 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 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 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 four 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: 9 of the 9 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Pink runs through the planting: 3 of the 9 kinds grown for their flowers have it. The most in flower at one time is 6 kinds, in late May.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. 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 goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 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.
A shrub for all seasons that tolerates wet, dry, salt and clay. It suckers into a thicket, which is useful on a bank and needs managing in a border.
- Native hedges and mass planting
- Wet or dry soil
- Berries for birds and for juice
What to plant with black chokeberry
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- New England aster: carries the spot on into mid October.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Questions about black chokeberry
Does black chokeberry need sun or shade?
Black chokeberry 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 little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does black chokeberry 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 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 mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid May to early June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 7 | Late April to mid 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 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 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many black chokeberry 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 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?
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.
Will black chokeberry spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by suckers into a wider clump. Remove the outer shoots to contain it.
What flowers after black chokeberry?
Black chokeberry is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Foxglove: from early June to mid July, 4 ft tall.
- Lupine: from late May to early July, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Peony: from late May to late June, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does black chokeberry look like in winter?
Black chokeberry 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 good for bees and butterflies?
Black chokeberry is visited by pollinators, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Aronia
- Black chokeberry 'Low Scape Mound' Aronia melanocarpa 'Low Scape Mound'
- Black chokeberry 'Viking' Aronia melanocarpa 'Viking'
- 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
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
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
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green, red
- Shape
- Rounded, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- 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. 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.