Red Chokecherry
Prunus virginiana 'Canada Red'
Honey-scented white spring flowers, then dark burgundy foliage all summer. Waxwings and bluebirds take the cherries fast. Fits smaller lots.
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
Dark red foliage all season, fragrant spring flowers, and bird-magnet cherries in August. Canada Red does the job of three different plants.
Canada Red is the chokecherry that pulls double duty as an ornamental and a wildlife tree. Spring brings clusters of white flowers with a sweet honey scent before the leaves finish expanding. Then the foliage emerges dark burgundy-red and holds that color through summer, turning deeper toward fall. Dark red to black cherries ripen in late summer and are taken almost immediately by cedar waxwings, catbirds, and bluebirds. The dark foliage reads as a handsome contrast plant in the landscape. Use it where you'd plant a purple-leafed ornamental cherry and want the same visual impact with the added benefit of bird food and pollinator value. At fifteen to twenty feet, it fits residential lots where larger trees would overwhelm.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown red chokecherry 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
- 15–25 ft · 10–15 ft wide
- Bloom time
- Spring
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 2–7
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native range
- North America
Care notes for red chokecherry.
Full sun for best foliage color and fruit production. Adapts to a wide range of soils. Tolerates drought once established. Prune in late winter to maintain shape and remove dead wood. May experience some leaf spots in wet summers. cosmetic only. No special feeding required.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside red chokecherry.
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’.