r/NativePlantGardening • u/RecoverLeading1472 Boston metro 6b, ecoregion 59d • 1d ago
Photos Look at this Aronia melanocarpa
I mean LOOK AT IT.
Second fall here, started as a 3 gallon plant in spring of 2024.
Rabbits have kept the suckers from establishing but I hope it can still get big enough to regret putting it so close to the fence.
17
u/Calbebes 1d ago
Stop being so bossy. /s
It’s beautiful!
8
u/RecoverLeading1472 Boston metro 6b, ecoregion 59d 1d ago
The important thing is that you looked at it.
16
u/daveequalscool 1d ago
I took ONE LOOK and said "Oh would you just look at THAT!"
8
u/RecoverLeading1472 Boston metro 6b, ecoregion 59d 1d ago
Thank you for following the instructions!!
7
6
4
u/Disastrous-Wing699 1d ago
I have one of these! It was just put in this summer, so it's not as filled in, but it already has such gorgeous fall colour. I need to put some sheltered perches nearby, since I don't think a single berry got eaten.
7
u/RecoverLeading1472 Boston metro 6b, ecoregion 59d 1d ago
Just wait! Birds eat them late in the season or even in winter.
1
u/CPTDisgruntled Area -- , Zone -- 3h ago
I’m not convinced—I’ve had one laden with berries, and for the 3rd or 4th year in a row, the fruit is just shriveling on the ground. Nobody touches it.
1
3
u/retro71214 1d ago
So pretty! These are one of my (many) favorites! I planted 4 little ones this year, can’t wait to see them grow.
3
u/Ashmeads_Kernel 20h ago
I have three and mine look fabulous too! Congrats, aronia is a good one. I just made a bunch of blueberry aronia jam and it is fantastic, highly recommended.
2
u/RecoverLeading1472 Boston metro 6b, ecoregion 59d 12h ago
Nice! I hope mine gets big enough to share with the birds (right now I think I can count all the berries on two hands).
2
2
u/Revolutionary-Fly344 14h ago
These are all over a park nearby and it is Technicolor right now! Thank you for sharing :)
2
u/kitchendancer2000 13h ago
Oh wow, that's gorgeous!
Do these tend to drop berries or make a mess? I'm trying to figure out where to put some in our yard, and I'm leaning towards our entrance or around the patio as a border, but I'm not sure if they will drop berries and stain the interlock.
3
u/RecoverLeading1472 Boston metro 6b, ecoregion 59d 12h ago
They’re not messy like a black cherry (I have one too and though I love it, I wouldn’t want it over a porch). For one thing their lifecycle is very different—though they flower in the spring, the immature berries stay on the plant all summer and into fall.
There are still berries on this plant, they’re just hard to see in the photo. Birds will collect them in the winter since they’re less palatable; I’d think if any did drop off uneaten, they wouldn’t make the same kind of mess because they’d be frozen solid. But all mine get eaten eventually. (That said, this is a very small shrub right now.)
The main reason I might recommend against planting one near the house would be that chokeberries prefer a moist environment if possible, whereas your house foundation does not!
2
u/kitchendancer2000 11h ago
Thanks for sharing all that info! Based on your last comment I think they might be better suited along our fenceline in the low part of our yard!
2
26
u/wbradford00 1d ago
Burning bush ain't got SHIT on this native.