 Chokecherry
Prunus virginiana
COMMON NAME: Chokecherry
DESCRIPTION:
Chokecherry attains a size of 20' high and wide. It has red
bark and dark green leaves that are light green on their underside.
The fruit is dark red or black with a diameter of ¼' to 3/8'.
NATIVE RANGE: Chokecherry
is native to most of the connected northern United States. It
grows along waterways and in other moist areas.
 CULTURE:
Chokecherry is very easy to
grow, is PH adaptable, and can be quite drought tolerant once established.
If not pruned, the tree has a habit of becoming multi-stemmed and
can sometimes sucker in the yard.
DISEASE AND INSECT: The
tree is fairly disease and insect resistant. In the wild a disease
called Black Knot Fungus can infect the tree but is usually not fatal.
Infected areas can be pruned out if a tree in a landscape situation
is infected.
LANDSCAPE VALUE: Prunus
virginiana is quite useful
in landscape situations. It comes in two colors: green and red.
The green form, also the color the tree takes in the wild, is not
readily available in the nursery industry. The red forms sold
under the cultivars names 'Canada Red' and 'Schubert' on the other
hand are very common. There is virtually no difference between
the two, but it is rumored that 'Canada Red' is faster growing.
Both of them are available in multi stemmed and single stemmed versions.
Some other good characteristics of the tree are white flowers in the
spring and, if the birds do no get them first, the fruit can be made
into jam or juice.
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