'Viking' Chokeberry Bush | Aronia x prunifolia
Year-round colour with wildlife appeal
Grown by John
South Downs National Park
Perfectly happy plants, or your money back
Specialist overnight plant delivery
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
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
Best plants you will ever get online
I have ordered plants from them twice this year. They arrived well packaged, on time and looked strong and healthy. I feel the staff from Roots plants deal with their plants and customers with passion and care. I can’t wait to order again, price is good as well.
Peter Mawer
Highly recommended all round
Delivered quickly, perfectly packaged and the tree was in excellent condition. Really healthy and taken to the garden with no problems. Can't recommend highly enough. 5 stars isn't enough!
John Harris
Satisfied customer
Unlike other online sellers, this company are well ahead in the quality stakes. My plant arrived promptly as per their promise and the plant was much more established and healthy than I had expected. It’s the second time I have ordered from them and I have faith in their promise. Excellent service.
Karen McEwan
A really good quality tree
A really good quality tree, delivered on time and very well packaged. But the emailed planting advice and supporting information was what really impressed me. Thoroughly recommended.
Martin C Simmons
Exceptional quality
The quality of the plants was exceptional, unlike ones I have had before from local garden centres. Thank you so much. I will definitely be using you again.
Sara Bradley
Marvelous!
Marvelous service, great plants and fast delivery. Very useful information on how to care for the plants I bought. Easy to use website that makes it far too easy to overindulge in fabulous plants😂🌱
Cheryl Mae Owen