Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Chokecherry
Prunus virginiana
  
About Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) 22 Nurseries Carry This Plant Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana) is a species in the Rosaceae (Rose) family, in the Bird Cherry (Padus) subgenus. It is native to North America where it is found almost throughout the continent except for the deep south and the far north. The plant is widespread in California, particularly in the mountains. It is a suckering shrub or small tree growing to 5 meter tall. The leaves are oval, 3-10 centimeter long, with a coarsely serrated margin. It is deciduous, and the leaves provide some fall color. The flowers are produced in racemes of 15-30 inches late spring (well after leaf emergence). The fruits are about 1 centimeter diameter, range in color from bright red to black. Although they are said to be edible, they contain small amounts of cyanide, especially when unripe. The very ripe berries are dark in color, less astringent, and contain less cyanide. Despite the potential toxicity, the fruits were valued by many Native people.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree, Shrub

Size
Size
15 - 25 ft tall
10 - 20 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Insects are attracted to the flowers. Many types of birds are attracted to the fruits. Bears may stop by and eat the fruits as well!

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low, Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils. Soil PH: 5.2 - 8.4

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use under trees such as Pines (Pinus sp.), Firs (Abies sp.), Oaks (Quercus sp.), Madrone (Arbutus sp.), Cottonwoods (Populus sp.), and Willows (Salix sp.), and with shrubs such as Dogwood (Cornus sp.), wild Roses (Rosa sp.), and Currant/Gooseberry (Ribes sp.).

Maintenance
Maintenance
Common pests include the prairie tent caterpillar and aphids. Chokecherry is also susceptible to black knot, stem decay, shothole, Valsa canker, and honey fungus.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: 3 mos. stratification; 2 wks. warm stratification first may improve germination.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rocky slopes

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 6.5" - 133.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.16" - 3.87", Coldest Month: 17.0" - 52.5", Hottest Month: 38.0" - 77.3", Humidity: 0.04" - 28.80", Elevation: 19" - 11853"


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In