Overview
Uses: Informal hedges, mass plantings, mixed borders, native gardens, and wildlife plantings.
Benefits: A compact red chokeberry about a third the size of older selections. White spring flowers become heavy clusters of berries that ripen yellow to orange to red, and the foliage turns bright red in fall. Tolerates clay, heat, drought, and road salt.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4–9
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Life Cycle: Deciduous Shrub
Growth Habit: Upright, Rounded — neat, dense form.
Bloom Color: White
Foliage Color: Green, turning bright Red in fall
Mature Height: 4–5 feet
Mature Width: 4–5 feet
Bloom Season: Spring
Growth Rate: Moderate
Summary
All the fruit and fall color of red chokeberry, on a plant sized for an ordinary yard.
Red chokeberry grows wild in the wet woods and thickets of eastern North America, and gardeners have long valued it for its glossy fruit and scarlet fall leaves. The catch has been size: the species often reaches 6 to 10 feet and tends to get leggy with age. Berry Scape® keeps those features on a dense, upright shrub that matures around 4 to 5 feet tall and wide.
The show starts in spring, when clusters of small white flowers open along the branches. By late summer they have become heavy bunches of berries that ripen from yellow through orange to a glossy red. The fruit is not a first choice for birds, so it tends to hang on the bare branches well into winter, long after the leaves have dropped.
In fall the foliage turns bright red, often one of the strongest colors in the yard. The plant is also unusually forgiving about where it grows. It takes heavy clay, summer heat, and dry spells once established, and tolerates the road salt that lands along driveways and sidewalks.
Care
Berry Scape® Red Chokeberry Care
Plant in full sun to partial shade. Full sun gives the heaviest fruit set and the brightest fall color; plants in partial shade still flower and fruit, just more lightly.
Red chokeberry comes from damp ground in the wild but grows well in a wide range of soils, from moist clay to ordinary, well-drained garden beds. Slightly acidic soil is ideal, though not required.
Water deeply once or twice a week through the first growing season while the roots establish. After that, plants handle both wet spells and short dry periods, though berries size up best with steady moisture through summer. A two-to-three-inch layer of mulch helps hold that moisture.
Feeding needs are light. One application of a slow release fertilizer in early spring is plenty, and plants in decent soil often need none.
Flowers and fruit form on the previous year's growth, so heavy pruning reduces the next crop. If shaping is needed, do it right after flowering. Every few years, remove one or two of the oldest stems at the base in late winter to keep the plant full. Like other chokeberries, it may send up an occasional sucker; clip any that stray outside the planting.
Size
What Size is the Berry Scape® Red Chokeberry for Sale Online?
Our Berry Scape® Red Chokeberry ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. Plants ship dormant or near dormant in the off-season, so they may arrive with few or no leaves. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please contact us.
How Large Does Berry Scape® Red Chokeberry Grow?
Expect about 4 to 5 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide at maturity, in an upright, rounded shape. Space plants about 4 feet apart for an informal hedge, or a little wider to keep each plant distinct in a border.
Additional Information
What is the botanical name of Berry Scape® Red Chokeberry?
The botanical name is Aronia arbutifolia Berry Scape® ‘UCONNAA001’. It is a Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrub selected for a compact habit and heavy fruit set.
What are some common names for this plant?
It is most often called red chokeberry, and is also sold simply as aronia.
Is Berry Scape® Red Chokeberry a native plant?
It is a selection of Aronia arbutifolia, which is native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada south to Florida and Texas. Selections like this one are often called nativars: they keep the flowers, fruit, and wildlife value of the native species in a size that fits a home landscape. Browse more Native Plants of North America.
Do birds eat the berries?
Yes, but usually late in the season. Chokeberry fruit is tart and astringent, so birds tend to leave it until richer foods run short in winter. That works in the garden's favor: the red berries stay on display for months instead of disappearing as soon as they ripen.
How is red chokeberry different from black chokeberry?
The two are close relatives. Red chokeberry carries red fruit and leaves with a soft, grayish underside, and in the wild it is the taller and more upright of the two. Black chokeberry has glossy dark fruit and smooth leaves. Both are native, flower in spring, and color up well in fall. For more fruiting and flowering options, see our Shrubs & Bushes.
