Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' · Rosaceae
An upright native shrub with white flowers in spring, glossy red berries that last through winter, and the most brilliant scarlet autumn leaves of any shrub.
- Size
- 7 ft tall, 4½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- 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 red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'
The planner designed this bed around red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' 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 red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' × 1, white
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 51, yellow
- 3 Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' × 8, pink
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 3, purple
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Camassia × 5, blue
- 8 Red spider lily × 5, red
- 9 Asiatic lily × 4, orange
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are daisies, open bowls, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 7 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 white mugwort (5 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.
- Part of the bed's peak. With mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana', creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' and camassia in mid May: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Low plants run along 98% of the front edge: creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' and mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' is the plant there is most of: 51 of the 84.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' goes in a border
At 7 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 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.
The best replacement for the invasive burning bush: the autumn red is as good, and there are berries too. It is bare at the base, so plant lower shrubs or grasses in front.
- A native substitute for burning bush
- Wet soil and rain gardens
- Winter berries for birds
What to plant with red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'
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; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
- New England aster: carries the spot on into mid October; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Winterberry 'Red Sprite': its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Burning bush vs Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'.
Questions about red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'
Does red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' need sun or shade?
Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' 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 soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' 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 4 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 9 | Early April to late April |
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 red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4½ ft (130 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 7 ft (220 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' 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 red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'?
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 red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' 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 red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima'?
Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Delphinium: from late June to mid July, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall.
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' look like in winter?
Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for winter berries for birds. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' good for bees and butterflies?
Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima' 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'
- Black chokeberry 'Viking' Aronia melanocarpa 'Viking'
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 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 7 ft (220 cm) tall, 4½ ft (130 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green, red
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Canada to Central and Eastern United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- 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.