Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
Estimated Height at Pickup: 1-2’, 1 gal
Wildlife value packed into a compact plant! With showy flowers, berries, and host insects paired with adaptability make chokeberry an easy way to add diversity to native plantings! Can be trained as a tree or allowed to grow as a multi-stemmed shrub. Hosts the red spotted purple and coral hairstreak butterflies!
Pollination: 2+ individuals reccomended.
Light: Full Sun, Part Sun/Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Wet Mesic, Mesic, Dry Mesic, Dry
Soil Type: Adaptable
Height: 8’-25’
Width: 8’-20’
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Time: Apr-May
Fruit: Red-black drupes (berries) mature in summer.
Fall Color: Yellow, Orange
Root Type: Branching
Notable Wildlife Interactions: Flowers attract bees and flies. Hosts the coral hairstreak and red spotted purple butterflies, moths such as the ultronia underwing and promethea, some borers, beetles, leafhoppers, and smaller insects. Fruits are eaten by a wide variety of insects including turkey, cardinals, tanagers, waxwings, thrush, skunks, foxes, squirrels, and chipmunks. Commonly browsed by deer and rabbits.
Notes: Can spread by suckers. Drupes are technically edible, but famously bitter (hence the common name). The brave still commonly make them into preserves and jams.