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Rosaceae FAMILY

Aronia mitschurinii

Aronia mitschurinii

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
Growth—

Aronia mitschurinii is very cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to around -50°c when dormant[1]. An easily grown plant, succeeding in most, medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It prefers a moist peaty soil, but has a wide range of soil tolerance including boggy soils. It dislikes shallow soils over chalk[2, 3]. This species has been developed from plants of Aronia melanocarpa which were originally taken from N. America to Russia and cultivated there for their fruit. It is believed that hybridization with Sorbus aucuparia has led to a more robust and much less variable species, one that is worthy of specific recognition. This plant is now often cultivated in Russia and named forms have become available in other parts of the Temperate zone[1, PFAF]. This genus is closely related to Sorbus species and has been shown to hybridize with them[2, 4]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[2].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in pots outdoors or in a cold frame[5]. Pre-soak stored seed overnight and then cold stratify for 3 months at 2°c[5]. The seed germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[6]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant out in late spring. Although this species is of hybrid origin, it has been shown to breed true from seed[4, 3]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[5]. Division of suckers in the dormant season[2]. Very easy, they can be planted straight out into their permanent positions. Layering[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Aronia+mitschurinii>

Pollinators

Apomictic

References

  1. [1]On Distinctions of Cultivated Black-fruited Aronia from its Wild Ancestors — A. K. Skvortsov, Yu. K. Maitulina · 1982 ↩︎A research paper, establishing the species Aronia mitschurinii
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  4. [4]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  5. [5]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎