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Viking' Chokeberry Bush | Aronia x prunifolia
Year-round colour with wildlife appeal
Grown by John
South Downs National Park
The highlights
- Dark green foliage turning bright red in autumn, with pink-tinged spring blossom
- Glossy black berries can be used to make jam
- Perfect for a wildlife garden or as hedging
- Grows to a compact 2m
Description
- An attractive deciduous shrub with a spectacular spring blossom display, vibrant red autumn colour and plenty of fruit for the birds (unless you make it into jam)
- Chokeberry gets its name from the astringency of the fruits which are inedible when raw, but can be used to make wine, jam, syrup, juice, soft spreads, tea and tinctures. If you leave them on the tree, they'll be happily eaten by birds, who don't taste astringency. 'Viking' has been specially bred for larger fruit suitable for jam-making - because they are self-fertile only one plant is needed to produce fruit
- The plant blossoms in late spring with large clusters of pink-tinged white flowers followed by berries in summer and into autumn, when the leaves turn from a dark matt green to a deep purple-red
- Naturally compact, growing to just 2m tall and can be pruned to fit any space
- Chokeberries are naturally understory and woodland edge plants, and grow well when planted under trees. They're very versatile and can be used in a wildlife or cottage garden or as wildlife friendly hedges
- These low maintenance plants are resistant to drought, insects, pollution, and disease
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What To Expect
Supplied as:
Height on arrival:
Eventual height:
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How To Grow
Excellent pest and disease resistance
Has no serious pest or disease issues
Water regularly when new
Water the tree regularly for the first few months. The tree is drought tolerant once established.
Full sun to partial shade
Plant in a sunny, sheltered position. This tree will tolerate partial shade well and can be planted under trees.
Any well drained, fertile soil
Will tolerate less than perfect conditions but prefers well drained, loamy soils. If your soil is heavy or sandy, mix in some perlite or fine horticultural grit when planting, to improve drainage.
No feeding required
This tree gets all the nutrients it needs from the soil
Planting Calendar
- Best time to plant
- Harvest
- Flower
South Downs National Park
Meet John
110 years' expertise free with every plant
You simply can’t buy better fruit plants and here’s why. John grows them outdoors, just like his family has done since 1908, so they’re more than a match for the UK weather. John only has time for the top performing varieties, meaning that you can be assured of a successful (and blooming tasty) soft fruit crop.
What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Growing with Roots
Good to know
Our plants are grown in the UK
Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.
Our plants are delivered overnight
Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 24 hours.
We're here to help at every step
We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team of experts.
Perfect plants, guaranteed
We’re confident that you’ll be delighted with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re perfectly happy.
Learn from our experts
7 Best Climbing Plants for Shade
Digging deep to answer your questions
How do I know I'm getting quality plants?
All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.
When will I get my plants?
The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.
How will my plants be packed and delivered?
We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.
Where do you deliver?
We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.
Ask the grower
One of our trusted growers will get back to you via email within 24 hours
What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Excellent delivery and service
Well, the delivery was spot on, the tree looks healthy enough for a sleeping plant, although at the moment most of the branches are on one side of the trunk which in itself is bent banana-style. quite wonky. One can only hope that it grows into a fruitful plant with some character?
30 January
Nice sized tree in good condition
Time will tell on the quality of the product (bare-root apple trees), but the stems that arrived seemed in great condition and very well packaged so no damage in transit. Looking forward to Spring!
Ange
Appears v healthy
Very happy with purchase
Ms Arlene Bocking
Lovely tree
So happy with my purchase of my Braeburn Hillwell apple tree from Roots Plants. It arrived promptly, well packaged and in a good, healthy condition. I soaked it for an hour before planting and it's doing well. Looking forward to our home grown apples, in time.
Ms Arlene Bocking
It has picked up now and is growing well
It arrived in a heat wave and looked a little bit sorry for itself when planted out but it has picked up now and is growing well.
David Osborne
Good service all round
Arrived on time as the seller said it would and the courier gave me a time slot to track my parcel. It came well packaged and was of good quality for this time of year. It looks a good and healthy tree and will be planted up in a few weeks after the ground has been prepared. I’m pleased with my purchase.
Helen