Description | Iroquois Beauty Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) A compact selection of Black Chokeberry with white flowers and orange and reds fall color. |
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Pronunciation | (a-roh-NI-a)(mel-an-OH-car-pa) |
Plant Type | Shrubs Deciduous |
Hardiness Zone | 3-8 |
Sunlight | best in full, tolerates some shade |
Moisture | average, tolerates wet and dry conditions once established |
Soil & Site | average, wet, boggy |
Flowers | 5 peals, white, borne in a corymb, early spring after the leaves emerge |
Fruit | dark purple, almost black, edible but very astringent tasting, birds leave this fruit for last |
Leaves | lustrous, dark green, fall color orange, orange to reds fall foliage |
Stems | twiggy |
Roots | fibrous |
Dimensions | 2-3 feet tall, 4-5 feet spread, upright suckering growth habit |
Propagation | cuttings |
Native Site | northeastern United States and adjacent Canada |
Cultivar Origin | Originated as a selection from the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois (USA) and introduced by Chicagoland Grows. |
Misc Facts | I have drank tea made from from Black Chokeberry fruit. It has a strong, sour puckering taste. High in anthocyanins and flavonoids, five to ten times higher than cranberry juice. Tea is a red color. AKA: Morton Black Chokeberry, |
Author's Notes | I have never grown this cultivar but have used the species and Autumn Magic. Autumn Magic is growing happily for me on the edge of a boggy area. |
Notes & Reference | #01-Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Michael Dirr) ,#178-Morton Arboretum ( www.mortonarb.org), Chcagoland Grows data sheet |