How to plant and care for Aronia (Chokeberry)

Aronia melanocarpa

🍓 Fruit 🔁 Perennial

A super-hardy shrub with white spring flowers, flaming red autumn leaves and black, very healthy berries — tart and astringent, best in juice and jam.

At a glance: harvest in September.

When to plant and care for it

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Flowers

Harvest

Prune

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Growing Aronia (Chokeberry): what it needs

Light: Full sun · 6+ hours a day
Watering: Water well while fruit swells
Soil: Any soil, even damp
Spacing: 1.5 m
Height: 1.5–2 m
In pots: Only in large containers
Feeding: Sulphate of potash in late winter; mulch with compost
Hardiness: USDA zones 3–8

Step by step

On planting day
Plant
Plant 1.5 m apart in weed-free, well-prepared soil enriched with compost, and water in well.
0–3 days after “Plant”
Water In
Water well and keep moist while it settles in.
7–21 days after “Water In”
Mulch
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plants to keep moisture in and weeds down.

Every year

February
Prune
Remove a few of the oldest stems at the base every year from year three.
May
In Flower
White flowers buzzing with bees.
September
Pick Aronia Berries
Pick whole clusters when the berries are black and soft. Freezing them first takes the edge off.
Starts from year 2.