Black chokeberry can also be used as an edible fruit crop although the fruit is too astringent to eat raw. The high-antioxidant fruit is used in baking and to make jams, jellies, syrup, tea, juice and wine. Fruit can persist into winter and serves as a food source for birds and other wildlife.
An extremely hardy deciduous shrub that will reach maturity in five years, the black chokeberry is a perfect choice for naturalizing. If left alone, the plants can form colonies that provide food and shelter for wildlife.
While it is most widely known as a member of the genus Aronia, some taxonomists now classify it as a member of Photinia, which is comprised of mostly evergreen plants but which otherwise shares many characteristics with Aronia species.
Because black chokeberry is so tolerant to many different growing conditions, it also tends to readily spread in the landscape. If you don't want multiple shrubs forming a thicket, you will have to monitor for and remove suckers around the base of the plant from which new plants with grow.. . . . .364011235752!]0000000000000009783314146042!]
