How to Plant & Raise Chokecherries

Chokecherries are used for making wine and preserves.

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) produces small, round red fruits in mid to late summer. Chokecherries have an astringent flavor that sweetens with cooking. The seeds, stems and branches are all toxic when ingested. The fruits, with the seeds removed, make sweet, slightly tart preserves, jellies or syrups or are made into wine. The chokecherry tree grows 6 to 30 feet tall. A native of Canada and northern North America, this cold hardy plant provides important habitat and food for wild animals. Raise chokecherries for their edible fruit or plant this hardy, spreading shrub as a living hedge or a specimen in the landscape.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Pruning shears
• Tree saw
• Bucket

Instructions

1. Select healthy 1- to 2-year-old chokecherry trees. Chokecherry tree varieties are available bare-root or sold in nursery pots.

2. Dig a hole at the planting site. Plant chokecherry in spring in full sun to part shade. Dig the hole twice as wide as the root ball. For bare-root trees, dig out an area large enough to spread out all the roots. Make the hole the same depth as the root system of the chokecherry sapling.

3. Break up the soil in the bottom of the hole and on the sides with a shovel. Place the chokecherry next to the planting hole and gently lay it on its side. Unwrap the roots or slide the nursery pot away from the root ball.

4. Roll the chokecherry into the hole and hold it straight up and down with one hand while you center it with the other. Continue holding the tree upright as you backfill the planting hole. Soak the soil with water immediately after planting the sapling.

5. Water chokecherries with 1 inch of water a week for the first one to two years after planting. Spread the water out in a circular area that extends out twice the width of the tree's canopy to make sure all the roots are getting water.

6. Prune chokecherry in late winter before the tree comes out of winter dormancy. Remove dead wood and broken branches. Chokecherries are a multi-stem tree or large shrub that forms a thicket-like interior that's ideal for habitat.

7. Harvest chokecherries between August and October when the fruits ripen. Pull the fruits off the tree and place them in a bucket or basket. Use caution when working on ladders during the harvest.

Tips & Warnings

• Chokecherry trees grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 7.

• Chokecherries do not require additional fertilizer unless the soil in your area is extremely poor. Get a soil analysis and consult a tree professional if you suspect your chokecherries may need added fertilizer.

• Chokecherry leaves, stems and seeds are poisonous to people and animals.

References

• USDA Plant Guide: Chokecherry
• Utah State University: Chokecherry
• Missouri Botanical Gardens: Prunus Virginiana
• The University of Maine Cooperative Extension; Common Chokecherry; Marjorie Peronto, et al.