Clippings A Weekly Column about Plants, Gardens, & Yards By: Margaret Murphy • ISU Extension Horticulture Educator • Lyon-O’Brien-Osceola-Sioux Counties

For the Week of November 26, 2012

Have You Heard about Aronia Berry? A member of the Rosaceae family, aronia is native to the Great Lakes region and northeastern United States. Known also as black chokeberry, this deciduous shrub is valued for both its ornamental and commercial uses. In landscapes, it offers beautiful clusters of creamy, white flowers during the spring followed by showy red foliage and dark, purple berries in the fall. The berries can provide food for songbirds through the winter. Plus, with certain cultivars reaching over eight feet in height, aronia is sometimes used in windbreaks or conservation plantings. More recently, aronia has become popular as an alternative commercial fruit crop in the Midwest including Iowa. The berry has attracted much attention not only as a food but also for its health benefits. Research indicates that aronia berries contain high levels of antioxidants. Eating a diet rich in foods that contain high levels of antioxidants is believed to promote overall good health. There are a variety of delicious vegetables, beans, fruits, grains, and spices that are considered high-quality sources for antioxidants. Topping the list, however, are berries and aronia berry ranks as one of the best sources for antioxidant power. Cultivation for commercial production has been done extensively in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia. There are several cultivars available for fruit production. Two developed in Europe, ‘Viking’ and ‘Nero’, are now commonly available in North American. Both were selected for producing larger sized berries. Aronia is hailed as being reasonably easy to grow. It is well adapted to a wide range of soil types. It tolerates partial shade but full sun is recommended especially for commercial plantings to promote uniform ripening of fruit. Aronia is described as a relatively pest and disease free plant, although mildew can occur if the shrub does not have enough sun or proper air circulation. Wildlife too may forage on its fruit or browse on the stems of young plants. Cultivars of aronia are self-fruitful so do not require a pollinator for fertilization and fruit set. Growers need only one cultivar for fruit production. Berries typically ripen in late August or early September and can be harvested by hand or mechanically with equipment similar to a blueberry picker. A newly emerging cultivar developed in Poland called ‘Galicjanka’ is marketed as having its berries ripen all within the same time period, which is desirable if harvesting berries mechanically. The aronia shrub is known to produce suckers, so pruning older canes is suggested to keep adequate light for good berry production. Prune plants in late winter or early spring before bud break. You can also do a rejuvenation prune if needed. This type of pruning involves cutting back all the stems to just a few inches above the ground. Rejuvenation pruning allows an overgrown, less productive or damaged plant to basically start over from the ground up. Unlike annual or regular pruning, this method will take the plant out of production for few years. Aronia berries can be eaten fresh right off the bush though some folks don’t appreciate how they can make your mouth pucker. The berry is a bit tart and dry. That astringent taste is caused by chemicals known as tannins. The fruit loses some of that tartness when fully ripened or if frozen. In Europe, the berries are used widely for making wines and juices; though the list seems endless for ways aronia berries can be utilized. The juice or whole berries can be enjoyed in jellies, candies, dessert fillings, yogurts, teas, breads, muffins, barbeque sauces, or syrups just to name a few food products. A couple of grocery stores where I routinely shop offer several aronia berry products that are produced regionally. One item that I had the pleasure of sampling during my Thanksgiving Day feast was a locally made aronia berry wine. If you are interest in learning more about growing aronia plants commercially, please see www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/fruits/aronia-berries/ for related links. Additional Information was provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension article, Aronia Berries (2003); Iowa State University Extension article, Aronia-A New Crop for Iowa (2009); and the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC), Iowa State University article, Aronia Berries Profile retrieved November 21, 2012 from www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/fruits/aronia-berries-profile/. Also, feel free to contact me with any questions at [email protected], by phone at (712) 754-3648 or through your local County Extension office. ###