Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
Also called Aronia and Black chokeberry
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitThe name is a warning and it is accurate — raw they are mouth-puckeringly astringent, and they are grown to be cooked, juiced or frozen first. Nothing about the plant needs doing: it fruits in any soil and colours scarlet in autumn.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 6 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Sun to part shade
- Feed
- Every 60 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Very hardy RHS H7, to -25°C
- Size
- 2 m tall · 2 m across
- Lifecycle
- Shrub
- Origin
- Eastern North America
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- New shoots coming up through the grass a foot or two out from the bush, in a ring. Cut them off at the root rather than at ground level, or you get two for one.Suckering · disorder
- The clusters stripped from the top of the bush down in September, which is also the month the leaves turn — so an early bare bush looks like autumn rather than theft.Birds · pest