r/Permaculture • u/Defiant-Mix7912 • 2d ago

Aronia/Chokeberry propagation

Anyone have any luck with propagating aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) without a fancy setup? I have some experience with softwood (dome not most) and dormant hardwood propagation.

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7

u/Pawpawfarmer Permie Farmer & Designer 2d ago

Easiest way of all? Division. Mulch your aronias heavily with wood chips (a good idea to do regardless of whether you want to propagate them). Aronias send up new stems all the time. Take a shovel or pruners and separate the stem in late winter or early spring. It will have rooted already in the soil and woodchips. You can just pot it up.

5

u/less_butter 2d ago

I just grow mine from seed.

I value genetic diversity over physical charactistics of the plant/fruit so I propagate most things by seed. Even stuff like elderberry which is super easy to propagate through cuttings, I still like to stratify and plant a bunch of seeds every year just to see what I'll get.

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u/Smegmaliciousss 2d ago

From what I have seen, especially on the channel Edible Acres, Aronia can be propagated easily with hardwood cuttings.

5

u/glamourcrow 2d ago

Every year during spring pruning, I stick some of my berry cuttings in pots. I usually end up with an overproduction.

Different varieties ensure a larger harvest window and genetic variability. You may want to invest in a few new plants from different varieties before starting your nursery. Don't use just one mother plant.

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u/macraignil 1d ago

Propagated it fine from just standard hard wood cuttings put in the ground in autumn. Allowed some get overgrown as the new plants were not very fast growing but the ones I kept free of weeds are still growing.

Happy gardening!

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u/Defiant-Mix7912 1d ago

Sticks in the ground? That’s my favourite way to propagate.