Brilliantissima Red Chokeberry

For fall color that lasts and a shrub that will grow in wet ground, red chokeberry is the native answer. Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' is a selection of red chokeberry chosen specifically for autumn foliage, and the glossy leaves turn a hard scarlet that holds for weeks rather than dropping after the first cold night. It grows 6 to 10 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 8 in full sun to part sun, and fills out over three or four seasons.

White flowers cover the branches in spring, followed by glossy red berries that color in late summer and hang on into winter. The fruit is intensely astringent, which is why the birds leave it alone until late in the season and why the display lasts as long as it does.

The spring flowers are a magnet for early native bees, and the foliage feeds spring azure and coral hairstreak caterpillars.

Red chokeberry tolerates wet soil, drought, salt, and poor ground, which makes it a good choice for a rain garden edge, a bank, or a mass planting. It suckers into a colony over time and gets leggy at the base as it ages, so plant it in a group or put something low in front of it. Deer leave it alone.