Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa 'Viking')
Aronia melanocarpa 'Viking' offers low-maintenance beauty with spring flowers and edible, nutrient-rich berries. Ideal for hedges.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’, commonly known as Black chokeberry, is a highly adaptable and increasingly popular deciduous shrub valued for its four-season interest. Developed in Europe as an orchard variety, ‘Viking’ produces clusters of white flowers in May, followed by masses of edible, dark purplish-black berries later in the summer. This cultivar is known for its upright, multi-stemmed structure, making it an excellent choice where sturdy form and reliability are needed.
This shrub offers significant ecological and functional value to the garden, thriving across a wide range of conditions not easily tolerated by other ornamentals. Its glossy green foliage turns striking red in the fall, adding a final burst of color before dormancy. The resulting berries are high in nutrients, making the Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ both attractive to songbirds and useful for human consumption in jams and jellies, provided the astringency is managed.
Gardening for Black chokeberry is remarkably easy due to its low maintenance requirements and broad soil tolerance. Whether used for screening, naturalizing, or managing wet areas, this robust plant delivers consistent performance. Consider planting Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ for resilient, multi-season structure in your landscape design.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Rosaceae
- Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 3-8
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 3-6 ft
- Spread: 3-6 ft
- Bloom Time: May
- Bloom Description: White
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Water Needs: Medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
For optimal performance and the best fruit production from your Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’, select a site receiving full sun. While this shrub tolerates part shade, heavy shade will reduce flowering and subsequent berry yield. Planting should occur in spring or fall, ensuring the soil is average, medium moisture, and well-drained.
Black chokeberry demonstrates exceptional adaptability, tolerating many soil types, including somewhat boggy conditions. In fact, its tolerance for wet conditions makes it suitable for rain gardens or stream margins. Watering should be consistent, especially during the first season while the plant establishes its root system. Fertilization is rarely needed; focus instead on consistent moisture until maturity is reached.
Maintenance for Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ is generally low. Pruning can be done lightly to maintain shape or to remove any suckers if you wish to restrict its colonial spread; otherwise, it maintains a naturally rounded, upright habit. Remove any dead or damaged wood during late winter dormancy.
Landscape Uses
The robust, upright growth habit of Black chokeberry makes it very versatile in landscape planning. It excels when massed or grouped in shrub borders, providing excellent structure that screens mildly unsightly areas or defines pathways. Due to its ability to withstand wet conditions, incorporating Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ into the design of rain gardens or along the banks of ponds and streams is highly recommended.
For a naturalized look, allow this suckering shrub to spread gently, eventually forming an effective, dense screen or mass planting with minimal intervention. Its reliability in tough spots also makes it a good choice for open woodland edges where the filtered light is available. Gardeners focused on edible landscapes will appreciate its potential inclusion in the fruit garden alongside other hardy shrubs.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
Fruit Qualities
- Showy
- Edible
Noteworthy Characteristics
Aronia melanocarpa, commonly called black chokeberry, is an open, upright, spreading, somewhat rounded but leggy, suckering, deciduous shrub that typically grows 3-6’ tall. It is noted for its glossy leaf texture, striking purple/red fall color, and edible berries that ripens in late summer. The cultivar ‘Viking’ is specifically noted for its excellent vigor and high yield, maintaining glossy elliptic leaves that turn attractive red hues in autumn.
Tolerances
This plant displays excellent resilience once established.
Potential Problems
The Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ generally suffers from no serious insect or disease problems, making it an exceptionally low-risk planting. Gardeners should remain aware that it has some susceptibility to common fungal issues like leaf spots and occasionally twig or fruit blight. Good air circulation, achieved by avoiding overly crowded plantings, will help mitigate these moisture-related issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Black chokeberry suitable for?
Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ is reliably hardy across USDA Zones 3 through 8.
How large does Black chokeberry grow?
This deciduous shrub typically reaches a mature height and spread between 3 and 6 feet tall and wide, offering dependable mid-sized structure.
What sun exposure does Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ need?
For the best flowering and fruit production, Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ requires full sun, though it will tolerate partial shade.
When does Black chokeberry bloom?
The attractive white flowers appear reliably in May, adding early spring interest to the landscape.
Conclusion
The Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ provides unparalleled, low-maintenance performance, transitioning beautifully from spring flowers to durable foliage and nutritious autumn berries. This Black chokeberry cultivar is a foundational plant for robust, reliable landscaping in challenging sites. Before planting, confirm that your site falls within USDA Zones 3-8 and plan for a sunny location to maximize your harvest of edible fruit.
Wildlife Benefits
The spring flowers, while small, are valuable early-season nectar sources for emerging pollinators. While the shrub itself is not heavily advertised for heavy pollinator attraction, any early bloom helps bridge the gap before summer perennials emerge. The primary wildlife benefit comes later in the season from the dark berries.
These purplish-black fruits ripen in late summer and remain attractive to local birds and other wildlife well into the fall and winter months. Planting Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ near naturalized areas or bird feeding stations ensures a reliable late-season food source that is both nutritious and abundant.
Companion Planting
Group Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ with other moisture-tolerant plants that share a preference for full sun to partial shade. Consider pairing it with moisture-loving natives such as Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) for vertical contrast in a rain garden setting. Hydrangeas, which also appreciate medium moisture, make excellent neighbors in shrub borders. For an edible landscape theme, plant near serviceberries or highbush blueberries, ensuring all plants have adequate drainage if not intended for a boggy site.
