shrub
Black chokeberry 'Iroquois Beauty'
Aronia melanocarpa 'Morton'
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Black chokeberry 'Iroquois Beauty' is a deciduous shrub hardy in zones 3–8. Expect 2–3 ft of height and 3–5 ft of spread; our lists space it 3.5 ft apart. It does best in full sun to part shade with average water, and it copes with wet soil. Expect white flowers in May. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the structure role: a shrub that holds the bed's shape at the back all year. It is native to the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in Florida and the Gulf, Texas and the South-Central states and the Desert Southwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Aronia melanocarpa 'Morton'
- Plant type
- Shrub, deciduous
- Hardiness zones
- 3 to 8
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); Part sun (4–6 hours); Part shade (2–4 hours)
- Water
- Medium; tolerates wet soil
- Soil
- Adapts to wet, dry, sandy or clay soil.
- Mature size
- 2–3 ft tall × 3–5 ft wide
- Spacing
- 3.5 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Bloom
- May · white
- Roles in a bed
- Structure
- Styles
- natural, cottage
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. Not on the ASPCA list; berries are eaten by people but leaves and seeds hold cyanogenic glycosides, so marked toxic to be safe.
- Native to
- Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest
- Pot size and price
- 3-gallon pot, typically $30–$45 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, more in heat waves, so the root ball never dries out.
- Pruning
- Remove suckers and a few old stems in late winter.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings (A-D); state noxious weed lists / Invasive Plant Atlas of the US; typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box listings. Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Guides that include this plant
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 7 (as a substitute)
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Black chokeberry 'Iroquois Beauty', across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Canadian wild gingerAsarum canadensegroundcover · zones 3–8
- Bleeding heartLamprocapnos spectabilisperennial · zones 3–9
- Japanese painted fern 'Pictum'Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'fern · zones 4–8
- Lenten roseHelleborus × hybridusperennial · zones 4–9
- GoatsbeardAruncus dioicusperennial · zones 3–7
- Rocky Mountain columbineAquilegia caeruleaperennial · zones 3–8
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Black chokeberry 'Iroquois Beauty': same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants