Canadian Chokecherry Tree

September 28, 2024 Post a Comment

Canadian chokecherry tree

This tough, hardy, and colorful ornamental chokecherry is perfect for difficult spots, tolerating heat, cold, wind and poor soil. Each new flush of bright green leaves turns bright reddish purple, providing striking color throughout the growing season.

How fast do Canadian chokecherry trees grow?

Mature Height:	10-20 ft.
Growth Rate:	Moderate
Harvest Time:	June - August
Year to Bear:	Can Fruit the 1st Year!
Botanical Name:	Prunus virginiana 'Canada Red'

Are Canadian red chokecherries edible?

'Canada Red' Chokecherry Fruit is edible and is used for jellies, pies, sauces, and wine (CAUTION: seeds are poisonous to humans). Consider the Benefits of Planting Natives!

How do you take care of a Canada red chokecherry tree?

Plant Care: Tree - Deciduous (single-stemmed woody plants that lose their leaves every winter): Prune regularly to promote health, provide air circulation, maintain a desirable shape, and to remove dead or damaged branches. Pruning is best done in late winter to early spring for most trees.

Should I plant chokecherry?

Planting chokecherries is a good way to help out your local wildlife since birds and other creatures benefit from eating the berries and seek shelter in the shrubs. The chokecherry is a large shrub and can grow to a width of 20 feet.

Are chokecherry trees toxic to dogs?

Dogs that eat chokecherry seeds or leaves may collapse from the poison, and the seeds can prove fatal. Symptoms can occur rapidly or within a few hours. Chokecherry poisoning has the following symptoms: Red mucus membranes.

Is chokecherry a good tree?

Recently, chokecherry has gained popularity as a health food due to its high antioxidant levels. This tough plant can grow in most soil types and with minimal water. It is also very cold tolerant, making it an excellent choice for home fruit production in harsh climates.

Can you eat the berries from a chokecherry tree?

Edible Parts Though often not eaten raw unless very mature, chokecherries are frequently made into jams and syrups as ways of enjoying and preserving them. They can also be used in baked goods such as pies. Chokecherries can be dried and eaten without any further preparation.

Do chokecherry trees spread?

The chokecherry is known to create thickets and can choke out other vegetation, making this plant invasive and weedy outside of its native growing zones. For example, Alaska has reported cases of invasive chokecherry harming native plants and wildlife.

Do deer eat chokecherry trees?

Chokecherry is widely regarded as an important wildlife food plant and provides habitat, watershed protection, and species diversity. Fruits, leaves, and twigs are utilized. Large mammals including bears, moose, coyotes, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, elk, and deer use chokecherry as browse.

Are Canadian chokecherries poisonous to dogs?

Toxicity to pets Cherry trees and shrubs (Prunus sp) including the Chokecherry, Black cherry and cherry laurel contain cyanogenic glycosides. All parts of these plants other than the ripe pulp around the seeds are considered toxic and contain cyanide.

What did Native Americans use chokecherries for?

Chokecherries were an important food staple for many indigenous peoples of North America. Berries were eaten raw or dried and mixed with pemmican. The Jicarilla Apaches ground dried chokecherries and pressed them into cakes for use during the winter months (Niethammer, 58).

How long does it take for a chokecherry tree to produce fruit?

Most plants will not begin fruiting heavily until their 3rd or 4th year. Planting and Spacing: Plant in the spring or fall to allow time for root establishment before summer heat. Spacing will depend on cultivar, but as a general guideline, chokecherry plants should be spaced 5 to 8 feet apart.

Is chokecherry a tree or bush?

Chokecherry is a beautiful deciduous and thicket-forming tree that adds an exotic touch to your backyard. It is a medium-sized tree and rarely reaches a height of 30 feet. It produces perfect flowers which are fragrant and arranged in cylindrical racemes 3 to 6 inches long.

Should you prune a chokeberry?

In order to get the most out of your chokeberry plant, be sure to prune when it's around 8 to 10 years old to improve fruit production. Cut its branches and stems to 40 inches above the ground after the plant flowers. Repeat this procedure every four or five years or so.

What animal eats chokecherry?

Robins, thrushes, grosbeaks, woodpeckers, jays, bluebirds, catbirds, kingbirds, and grouse eat chokecherries, and so do mice, voles, chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, foxes, deer, bear, and moose.

Are chokecherries good for anything?

The entire berry is rich in disease-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids, anthocyanins and proanthocyanins, each said to possess a high-capacity value at fighting against allergies, viruses and cancer-causing elements. Chokecherries also contain a high dose of quinic acid which is known to prevent urinary tract infection.

Do chokecherry trees smell good?

After the sun warms the chokecherry blooms up a little in the morning I have been delighted by their fragrance wafting through the air. I love to take a deep breath and savor the aroma of their blooms which has a slight hint of honey to it. The scent is heady, delicious, and it tickles my olfactory senses.

What's the difference between chokeberry and chokecherry?

One way that chokecherry is different from chokeberry is that the fruit of chokecherry turns black as they mature, whereas red chokeberry fruits stay red through development. Chokeberries are also much more tart than chokecherries are. Chokecherry grows taller, up to 20 feet tall and is denser than chokecherry.

Can you eat chokecherries raw?

Use: The chokecherry is mostly to tart to eat raw, but makes a good jelly. DO NOT EAT WILTED LEAVES OR FRESH SEEDS. They contain cyanide, but cooking the fruit will rid it of the cyanide.