Black Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
Spring flowers for early bees, glossy black winter berries, deep red-purple fall foliage. Handles wet or dry, sun or shade, clay or sand.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Perhaps the most site-adaptable native shrub we grow. it handles wet, dry, sun, and shade equally well, with genuine wildlife value and striking fall color in all conditions.
Black chokeberry brings four-season value in a compact, adaptable package. White flower clusters in spring bring in early native bees and butterflies. By September the branches are heavy with clusters of glossy black berries, technically edible but intensely astringent raw, which means they stay on the plant through winter until birds finally work through them. The fall foliage turns a deep, saturated red-purple that makes the berries look even more dramatic against it. It handles an extraordinary range of conditions, wet or dry, sun or shade, clay or sandy soil, and spreads by root suckers to fill in over time. A reliable performer that never demands much attention.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown black chokeberry propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 2–4 ft · 36–60 in wide
- Bloom time
- Spring
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America
Care notes for black chokeberry.
Full sun to part shade in moist to dry soil. Extremely adaptable to clay, sand, wet, and drought once established. Tolerates urban conditions, road salt, and poor drainage. Spreads by suckers. Prune out oldest stems every few years to rejuvenate. No serious pests or diseases.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside black chokeberry.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.