Not well known in the US, these berries are grown more often in Europe and have been hybridized there. My plant is about seven years old from Raintree Nursery. Like the Goumi, it is a handsome shrub with simple, attractive foliage. The May flowers are attractive, if not showy, both to me and to pollinators. The berries ripen all at once, which is nice for harvesting, and up until last year, they didn’t seem to attract birds. Last year, I waited to harvest them a little too long and when I went out there one day every berry had vanished.

One advantage that Aronia has over Goumi is that the fall foliage is brilliant most years–reds and purples and oranges.

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My 2020 plans for this plant are to cut away some of the natural layers at its base and plant them in other locations or pots to share.