Fruit Tree Planner

Autumn Magic is lightly sweet with a definite tart edge, with firm berries and small fruit. Choose it for ornamental-plus-edible plantings where fall color rivals or exceeds the value of the fruit harvest, but skip it if you want maximum berry yield as the top priority - Autumn Magic produces well but its key selling point is its exceptional fall color, not the heaviest crop. It usually ripens around mid to late August, in the middle of this group.

Iroquois Beauty is lightly sweet with a definite tart edge, with firm, dense flesh and small fruit. Choose it for small gardens, foundation plantings, and mixed edible landscapes where the standard aronia is too large, but skip it if you want maximum harvest volume - the compact habit limits total berry production compared to full-sized shrubs. It usually ripens around mid to late August, in the middle of this group.

Low Scape Mound is lightly sweet with a definite tart edge, with firm, dense flesh and small fruit. Choose it for containers, low borders, front-of-bed edible plantings, and any space where a full-sized shrub is impractical, but skip it if you want a meaningful harvest - Low Scape Mound produces fruit but yields far less than upright varieties; it is primarily a landscaping plant. It usually ripens around mid to late August, in the middle of this group.

McKenzie is lightly sweet with a definite tart edge, with firm, dense flesh and small fruit. Choose it for larger properties, naturalized hedgerows, and a true-species aronia rather than a Sorbaronia hybrid, but skip it if you want small gardens - McKenzie grows significantly larger than Viking or Nero and needs substantial space. It usually ripens around mid to late August, in the middle of this group.

Nero is lightly sweet with a definite tart edge, with firm berries and small fruit. In this group, this is one of the richest-tasting options. Choose it for same as Viking - juice, syrup, jam, dried berries; the best value as a companion to Viking for improved pollination, but skip it if you want something visually or flavor-wise different from Viking in the same bed - Nero and Viking are nearly identical. It usually ripens around mid to late August, in the middle of this group.