Aronia arbutifolia 'BRILLIANT'

Recently, less known fruit trees and shrubs are becoming more and more popular mainly thanks to their original taste as well as positive impact on our health. Purple chokeberry is an example of such shrub which is not only edible but also pretty.

Brilliant is one of the latest varieties of purple chokeberry which is a hybrid between red and black chokeberry. So far you can find it listed under three names: a.melanocarpa, a.arbutifolia, and a. x prunifolia which is probably the most correct name. It is cultivated for several reasons, and the showiest of them being autumn foliage which turns bright carmine red and burgundy. In the spring it bears corymbs of numerous white flowers. Leaves are finely serrated, light to mid green in season.

It is in the same rosaceae family as the service tree and its fruit is similar, too. The lustrous fruits are red purple or purplish black, slightly larger than black currant, contain vitamin C and other important microelements such as ferrum and iodine. They can be eaten fresh, in fruit salads or sundaes, or processed as stewed fruit, preserves, juices, wines, they are excellent dried. Fruits can be harvested gradually from September to October as they last on the tree/shrub without rotting for a long time.

Brilliant chokeberry is a slower and more compact growing variety. It is self-fertile and needs no pruning to encourage fruiting. But if you do wish to prune it do so at the end of winter. Chokeberry is soil tolerant and fully hardy to -34°C (USDA zone 4).

Last update 09-01-2009