Digging deeperPlant Library

Description:

A compact shrub with glossy dark green leaves, showy pinkish-white flowers, glossy black berries, and red and purple fall colors; a great choice for massing or grouping, deserving of much greater use in the landscape

Ornamental Features

Black Chokeberry features showy panicles of shell pink flowers with white overtones and brick red anthers at the ends of the branches in mid spring. It features an abundance of magnificent black berries from late summer to late winter. It has forest green deciduous foliage. The glossy oval leaves turn an outstanding dark red in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Black Chokeberry is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Suckering

Black Chokeberry is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Black Chokeberry will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is an amazingly adaptable plant, tolerating both dry conditions and even some standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in clay soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America.