Plant, care for and harvest Aronia

The healthy chokeberry is trendy as a superfood and also brings a rich yield in the home garden. We provide tips on site requirements and cultivation of the Aronia.

Health-conscious people know the chokeberry as a superfood in the form of juices or powder from the health food store and well-stocked health food stores. But the healthy Aronia can also be grown in our gardens and plenty of fruit can be harvested. We introduce you to the robust shrub and show you the most important steps from planting to harvesting and using the chokeberry.

Aronia: origin and properties

The chokeberry (Aronia) originally comes from North America and belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae). Around 1900, the vitamin-rich, healthy fruit was first improved for commercial fruit cultivation in Eastern Europe and planted in plantations. In recent years, the chokeberry has been cultivated more and more often for pharmaceutical purposes or the food trade. It is closely related to our native mountain ash or rowan berry (

Sorbus aucuparia) related and can even interbreed with it. There are three species in the genus Aronia counted: The Felty Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), the black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) and the plum-leaved chokeberry (Aronia x prunifolia). An overview of these Aronia species and their varieties can be found in our special article.

The chokeberry is a moisture-loving, loose, multi-branched, mostly overhanging and hardy shrub that grows up to two meters tall and wide. Aronia leaves are ovate to elliptical in shape and glossy green. The shrub is a special ornament in autumn, when the leaves turn wine-red. In May, the flowering period begins for the white or white-pink aronia flowers, which are clustered together in umbrella umbels and are visited by numerous bees.
Small fruits develop from them, the appearance of which is strongly reminiscent of rowanberries or apples (penalty) in miniature format. From a botanical point of view, the term "chokeberry" is incorrect, because the black "berries" are, strictly speaking, collective fruit. However, the term berry has become commonplace. From mid-August, the first fruits of the chokeberry, which are then black-purple in color, can be harvested. They are 1 to 1.5 g each and have a deep red-purple flesh.

The taste of the aronia is bitter-sweet and not everyone's cup of tea, which is why the chokeberry, which can also be eaten raw, is only available in processed form. In good years, the richly bearing aronia bushes can each bear 10 to 17 kg of fruit, which birds also love to eat.

Plant aronia: location and procedure

Aronia bushes are adaptable and only thrive poorly on dry and at the same time calcareous soil. The optimal location for the chokeberry is full sun to a little shade on slightly acidic, medium-heavy to slightly sandy and well water-storing, humus-rich soil. The pH should be between 5.8 and 6.5. Chokeberries form a shallow, compact root system, so the quality of the topsoil is largely critical to them. Too heavy, clayey, but also too light, sandy soils can be treated with a high-quality potting soil like ours Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil, improved and made suitable for the Aronia. The high compost content increases the water storage capacity and improves the soil structure. The high potassium requirement of the aronia berry is also covered by our nutrient-rich potting soil.

Due to its tolerable growth height, the Aronia is suitable for planting under tall trees, in groups or as a single plant in beds and large pots. They are ecologically very valuable, especially in wild orchard hedges, since the flowers and fruits serve as food for numerous insects and birds. Shrubs are best planted between October and late November, at the start of winter dormancy. This is how roots form first, which can then supply the new leaves with nutrients and water next spring. Even in early spring - early March - you can still plant. In the summer, however, you should water these shrubs regularly until they are well rooted. A layer of mulch helps retain water and keeps the pH slightly acidic.

For hedges and dense group plantings, the planting distance for chokeberries is about 1 to 1.5 m, in individual positions 3 to 4 m. Loosen the soil over a large area and work in some compost if necessary. Then dig a planting hole and place the aronia bush in it. It can also be planted a little deeper so that the trunk starts branching underground, as this encourages branching at the base.

Plant aronia in a pot: In order to keep chokeberries in the tub, the planter must be large enough and have a volume of at least 20 liters. The shallow root system needs a rather wide than deep pot. Good water drainage and a five centimeter high drainage layer made of expanded clay, sand and gravel prevent waterlogging. A high-quality potting soil based on compost supports plant health and has been proven to promote root growth through the release of humic substances. About every two to three years - in spring - the chokeberry should be moved to a larger planter and filled with fresh soil. It is also worth applying a layer of mulch when growing chokeberries in pots to retain moisture and the low pH value.

tip: The flowers appear before the ice saints and are very sensitive to frost. However, the aronia flowers for a full two weeks, which is why it is not endangered by late frost and is also suitable for locations that are cold in spring.

Planting Aronia: Summary

• Location: full sun to a little shade
• Soil: Medium heavy to slightly sandy, good water retention, humic with a slightly acidic pH value
• Time: October – end of November; at the beginning of March
• Planting distance: 1 - 1.5 m for hedges and group plantings; 3 – 4 m in single position
• In the bucket: Large planter (min. 20 l) and drainage layer

The most important care measures

The undemanding chokeberries reward horticultural attention with rich flowering and good yield. Freshly planted, however, the shrubs do not tolerate any competition. Weeds should therefore be pulled out regularly around and in the plant. Below you will find further tips for the most important care measures for aronia bushes.

Fertilize and water the Aronia

You have to water aronia in the garden regularly in the first two years after planting until a sufficient number of roots have formed. Flowering and yield suffer during periods of drought in summer and spring. Therefore, in this case, it is also worth watering older plants. Kept in pots, the chokeberry needs regular watering, especially on hot summer days.

Chokeberries have a medium nutrient requirement and should always be replenished. Regular fertilization is particularly important for aronia in tubs due to the limited amount of soil available. The ideal time for fertilizer application is between leaf sprouting and flowering, i.e. between April and May. A predominantly organic long-term fertilizer, like ours Plantura organic universal fertilizer, can be worked into the surface of the bed or mixed into the potting soil when repotting.

Cut aronia

Chokeberries tolerate pruning well. Most of the flowers and fruits form on shoots that are five to six years old, older branches bear significantly less. Seven to eight-year-old shoots should therefore be cut out in the winter months together with weak, thin new shoots - similar to Black Currants (Ribes nigrum). Ideally, an aronia shrub consists of equal parts one to six year old branches. In this way, the shrub can also produce plenty of fruit every year in the future.

Diseases and pests of Aronia

Chokeberries are robust shrubs and rarely fall ill. The reportable, threatening fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) and powdery mildew (Erysiphaceae) can occur on aronia bushes. As pests are now and then frost moth (operophtera) and rowan moths (Argyresthia conjugella) observed. However, the fruits of the Aronia are particularly endangered by infestation with the cherry vinegar fly (Drosophila suzukii) and bird food.

Propagating Aronia

Aronia can be propagated from seeds, cuttings and runners. Only the 'Hugin' variety can be propagated true to seed, all other varieties can only be propagated vegetatively. Aronia seeds are cold germinator, which only germinate after a longer cold stimulus.
Chokeberries naturally form runners from time to time and can easily be propagated in this way. The offshoots are cut off the mother plant with a spade and transferred to a new location.
Offshoots or cuttings are cut from young, still unwoody shoot tips in summer. Fill a seed pot with a mixture of sand and nutrient-poor potting soil. After cutting, the approximately 10 cm long cuttings are defoliated down to the tip and stuck deep into the moistened soil mixture. In the following weeks, the aronia offshoots that are kept light and moist at 15 to 20 °C will root.

Harvesting aronia: timing and procedure

Depending on the variety, the harvest time begins in early to mid-August and lasts about three weeks. You have to be quick when harvesting, because birds can eat up entire bushes in a short time. With pruning shears, you cut off fruits that are sitting together as a whole cluster, wash them and then pluck the chokeberries from the stems. As the juice stains heavily, it is advisable to wear gloves. Only a few people enjoy the tart-sweet fruits in their raw state, which is why the fresh fruits are usually processed further.

Use and storage of Aronia

Aronia berries remain firm and hard-skinned even when fully ripe. They can be stored in the fridge at 0 to 2 °C for up to four months. Frozen whole fruit can be stored for years and further processed if necessary. Aronia juice can be pressed from the healthy fruits. This has a strong coloring and is therefore added to dairy products, light juices, cocktails or liqueurs. The aromatic taste unfolds in aronia jams and jellies, but also in baked goods.
The fruits of the aronia can be dried at gentle temperatures of 50 to 60 °C and also retain most of their healthy ingredients. Vitamin C in particular (137 mg per 100 g fresh fruit), but also calcium and potassium are contained in the healthy aronia berries. The coloring polyphenols - the so-called anthocyanins - have an antioxidant effect and could thus reduce the risk of cancer. In folk medicine, the juice of the chokeberries is used to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Are chokeberries poisonous?

Ripe chokeberries can also be eaten raw and are completely harmless to humans and animals. Like apples and almonds, the seeds in the fruit of the aronia contain small amounts of amygdalin. When the seeds are bitten, the substance is released and converted in the body to highly toxic hydrocyanic acid. Undamaged kernels that are swallowed safely pass through the digestive tract without releasing amygdalin. 100 g of almond kernels contain about twice the amount of amygdalin than is found in 100 g of fresh aronia berries. In addition, it is hardly possible to bite through all the seeds, let alone eat this amount of tart and sour fruit at all. If the kernels are heated, a large part of the already low content of amygdalin builds up. All processed Aronia products are therefore completely safe to enjoy.

Do you already know that one? hawthorn (Crataegus)? The genus Crataegus consists of other ecologically valuable trees for feeding birds, which inspire with bee-friendly flowers and magnificent autumn colors.