Aronia melanocarpa 'Autumn Magic' – Black Chokeberry 'Autumn Magic'

The 'Autumn Magic' Aronia is a four-season shrub that, as its name suggests, displays its true magic in the fall. After charming in the spring with clusters of fragrant white flowers and offering glossy, dark green summer foliage, it literally ignites with spectacular shades of bright red and orange. Its purplish-black, antioxidant-rich berries add visual interest that persists after the leaves drop and provide a valuable food source for birds in winter.

Characteristics

• Foliage: Glossy, healthy, dark green foliage during the summer, which transforms into a fireworks display of scarlet-red and orange colours in the fall. The foliage is deciduous.
• Flowering / Fruiting: In mid-spring, the shrub is covered in numerous clusters of small, lightly fragrant white flowers. They are followed in late summer by purplish-black berries that persist on the plant for a long time.
• Light: Performs best in full sun, which maximizes fruit production and the intensity of the fall colour, but it tolerates part shade well.
• Habit: Adopts a bushy, upright, and rounded habit. It tends to sucker to form a dense colony, but less aggressively than the straight species.
• Growth: With a moderate growth rate, it reaches a height and spread of 90 to 180 cm (3-6 ft).
• Soil: Shows exceptional adaptability. It tolerates a wide range of soils, from moist conditions to dry soils once established.
• Temperature: Remarkably hardy, it is perfectly adapted to the harshest winters.
• Resistance: Very resistant to diseases, insects, White-tailed deer, drought, de-icing salt, and urban pollution.

Use

• Types of Use: Excellent in mass plantings, in natural or fruit-bearing hedges, for naturalizing, in ecological gardens, and for erosion control on banks.
• Decorative Advantages: Provides visual interest all year round. The spring flowers, summer foliage, flamboyant fall colour, and persistent berries make it a most versatile choice.

Care

• Watering: Water regularly during the first year of establishment. Afterwards, its drought tolerance is excellent.
• Fertilization: Generally does not require any fertilization to perform well.
• Pruning: Pruning is not often necessary. If needed, prune in late winter to remove dead wood or to control suckers at the base.
• Planting: Can be planted in both spring and fall.
• Winter Protection: No winter protection is required.