Ground Hug Aronia

Light Needs

Partial Sun to Full Sun

(At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

8-14 Inches

Mature Spread

3 Feet

Growing Zones

3 to 9

Ground Hug aronia gives a whole new meaning to the term ground cover. The low-growing native shrub spreads to about 36 inch but gets only about 14 inches tall. This is not your ordinary ground cover. Ground Hug aronia, sometimes called chokeberry, is dense, filled with small white flowers in spring, followed by showy-showy-showy fall color and black fruit. The fruit is edible, but it lives up to its name chokeberry. The fruit is so astringent it causes a choking reaction in some people. Aronia fruit has anti oxidant characteristics.

The flowers are pollinated by tiny bees and birds will eat the fruit after it has frozen several times. Deer may eat the flowers of the plant in spring, but usually the grazing on these plants stops soon after. Of course, the flowers are where the fruits form, so a deer repellant or exclusion technique may be necessary, depending on your area.

Ground Hug Aronia Care

Aronia is low maintenance. Plant Ground Hug to accommodate its mature size to eliminate or reduce pruning. It blooms on old growth, which means the current year’s flowers were formed late summer the year before.

It tolerates wet, dry, acidic, alkaline and neutral soil. Ground Hug aronia tolerates nearly all soil conditions, including salt contamination. This makes it a good option for planting in beds where passing vehicles splash deicer solutions from treated roadways in winter.

Ground Hug Aronia Spacing

Ground Hug will do best in the landscape. Space 36 inches on center, where the center of one aronia is 36 inches from the center of the next aronia. As a newly purchased plant and depending on its size, Ground Hug probably could spend its first summer in a container, but plan on transplanting to the ground in fall.