Black Chokeberry Profile for Virginia

Virginia’s wildlife and landscape references identify black chokeberry under two scientific names. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources table uses Photinia melanocarpa; Virginia Cooperative Extension’s current shrub guide uses Aronia melanocarpa. Check the name on the plant label and use the current name when looking up range information.

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Virginia Tech describes black chokeberry as a medium-sized shrub with showy white spring flowers and black fruit in fall or early winter. It tolerates wet and dry soils and can sucker to form a colony. The DWR table reports shade tolerance and medium drought tolerance; it lists about 15 feet at 20 years. Virginia Tech uses a medium size class, defined in that guide as 5 feet to less than 9 feet. These descriptions use different measures, so check cultivar, spacing, and expected mature form before planting.

Blackhaw viburnum is a different species from black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa); compare the scientific names on plant records.

Illustrative growth form and seasonal traits only; it is not to scale or an identification key. Verify local range and cultivar size.

The DWR table marks the species as not preferred by deer. That is a relative tendency, not protection. Neither source resolves county-level native range or performance in deep shade beneath competing roots. Verify local occurrence and nursery provenance. For a three-shrub comparison, see Virginia shrubs for dry shade.