Grwoing Black Chokeberry - Ask Extension
I recently purchased a black chokeberry plant that basically looks like a stick. What can I expect its growth to look like over the next few months?
Knowledgebase
Grwoing Black Chokeberry #870500
Asked May 28, 2024, 6:55 PM EDT
I recently purchased a black chokeberry plant that basically looks like a stick. What can I expect its growth to look like over the next few months?
Franklin County Ohio
Expert Response
Well, hopefully your black chokeberry stick will become a 3-8' tall, 2-6' wide deciduous shrub with time. It is a native shrub to Ohio, and there are multiple cultivars available. The cultivars may vary from the straight native plant in height, spread, or flower color. The species has fruit edible for people (recipes abound on-line), and attractive to birds and native insects.
The shrub (Aronia melanocarpa) has whitish-pink flower clusters in the spring, which become black berries in the fall. The wild variety handles a wide range of soil types, and can handle wetter areas. It can tolerate full sun-part shade, but will flower and fruit better in the sun. It does tend to spread by suckering, so you may end up with a clump of shrubs unless you have a cultivar that tends not to do this.
If your stick is happy in it's new location, I would expect it to spend this year mostly working on growing roots and sending out leaves as it does so. Next year it should take off a bit more, and you may want to prune it after it flowers (which may take 2-3 years). You will also want to remove the suckers unless you want to propagate a clump of shrubs.
The links below will take you to sites describing the growing habits of black chokeberry, including pictures. Thank you for asking Extension about your new shrub.
https://extension.umn.edu/trees-and-shrubs/black-chokeberry
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=j420
https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ARME6
The shrub (Aronia melanocarpa) has whitish-pink flower clusters in the spring, which become black berries in the fall. The wild variety handles a wide range of soil types, and can handle wetter areas. It can tolerate full sun-part shade, but will flower and fruit better in the sun. It does tend to spread by suckering, so you may end up with a clump of shrubs unless you have a cultivar that tends not to do this.
If your stick is happy in it's new location, I would expect it to spend this year mostly working on growing roots and sending out leaves as it does so. Next year it should take off a bit more, and you may want to prune it after it flowers (which may take 2-3 years). You will also want to remove the suckers unless you want to propagate a clump of shrubs.
The links below will take you to sites describing the growing habits of black chokeberry, including pictures. Thank you for asking Extension about your new shrub.
https://extension.umn.edu/trees-and-shrubs/black-chokeberry
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=j420
https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ARME6
