Illustration
Black Chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
Also called black berried aronia and aronia
Also comes in pink.
Black Chokeberry blooms from May through May.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Black Chokeberry
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 5 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years (checked).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Black Chokeberry. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Black Chokeberry
Plant Black Chokeberry in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 8, spring means April to June and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms in May.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Black Chokeberry get?
5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4.5 ftwideSee Black Chokeberry in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Black Chokeberry
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Black Chokeberry about 4.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Black Chokeberry to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Black Chokeberry's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 11 published sources on October 5, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and toxicity
- Plant Addictsthe queue's store pageheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and soil
- Chicago Botanic GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color, soil and pests
- Penn State Extensionheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and soil
- plantdatabase.uconn.eduUniversity of Connecticut Plant Database (Mark H. Brand)height, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, diseases and pests
- Chicago Botanic Gardenits Plant Profile articlehardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags and soil
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower CenterUniversity of Texas at Austinheight, sun, water, bloom months and color, soil and pests
- trees.umn.eduUniversity of Minnesota Urban Forestry Outreach & Researchheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, diseases and toxicity
- minnesotawildflowers.infoMinnesota Wildflowers (a Minnesota flora)height, sun and bloom months and color
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
1 more variety in the Chokeberry group
Same genus, similar care - pick the one you are growing.
Every plant in the group blooms in May.
Compare every variety in the Chokeberry group
Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Variety | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berry Scape Aronia | White | May | Zones 4–9 | Full sun | 4.5 ft × 4.5 ft |
| Blackthis page | White | May | Zones 3–8 | Full sun | 5 ft × 4.5 ft |
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.