Botanical Name: Aronia arbutifolia
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Common Name: Red Chokeberry  
Plant photo of: Aronia arbutifolia
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Water Saving Tip:

Water-wise plants can be beautiful as well as practical.

Take your 'My List' Hydrozone Report to a landscape designer, or local nursery, when selecting and purchasing plants.

  • Anatomy

  • Culture

  • Design

Plant Type

Shrub

 

Height Range

6-12'

 

Flower Color

Pink, White

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Dark Green

 

Bark Color

Brown

 

Fruit Color

Red

 

Fruit Season

Winter, Fall

Information by: Stephanie Duer
Photographer:
  • Description

  • Notes

Red Chokeberry is a lovely, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub that grows 6 to 10 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide, with an open, soft vase-shaped habit. Clusters of white to light pink, 5-petaled flowers appear in spring, followed by abundant glossy red fruits (1/4” diameter) which appear in dense clusters along the branches. Fruits ripen in late summer and persist on the shrub throughout fall and well into winter. Leaves are oval, and glossy dark green above and grayish-green beneath. Foliage turns bright red in autumn. Common name is in reference to the tart and bitter berries which are technically edible but are so astringent as to cause choking in those who try. Fruits are sometimes used to make tasty jams and jellies (with the addition of sweetners!). Fruit sweetens a bit with the frost, making the berries more palatible to birds. A number of named cultivars are available in the trade.