Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
Chokecherrry is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone Plant, Chokecherry is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flower clusters in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and it is a host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The flowers give way to a bounty of dark red berries in the summer, which attract many different kinds of birds (illinoiswildflower.info) (audubon.org). The flowers are somewhat self-fertile, which means that a single shrub will produce some fruit, but not as abundantly. Fruit production increases when 2 - 3 of the shrubs are present (Prairie Nursery).
Photo Credit: USDA NRCS Montana (1), John Blair (2-4)
Chokecherrry is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone Plant, Chokecherry is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flower clusters in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and it is a host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The flowers give way to a bounty of dark red berries in the summer, which attract many different kinds of birds (illinoiswildflower.info) (audubon.org). The flowers are somewhat self-fertile, which means that a single shrub will produce some fruit, but not as abundantly. Fruit production increases when 2 - 3 of the shrubs are present (Prairie Nursery).
Photo Credit: USDA NRCS Montana (1), John Blair (2-4)
Chokecherrry is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone Plant, Chokecherry is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flower clusters in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and it is a host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The flowers give way to a bounty of dark red berries in the summer, which attract many different kinds of birds (illinoiswildflower.info) (audubon.org). The flowers are somewhat self-fertile, which means that a single shrub will produce some fruit, but not as abundantly. Fruit production increases when 2 - 3 of the shrubs are present (Prairie Nursery).
Photo Credit: USDA NRCS Montana (1), John Blair (2-4)
Life Cycle: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial, Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-dry, Dry
Height: 12-30 feet
Plant Spacing: 15-20 feet
Bloom Time: April-June
Bloom Color: White
Advantages: Caterpillar Favorite, Bird Favorite, Pollinator Favorite
Host Plant: Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Red Spotted Purple, Cecropia moth, Polyphemus moth, and 413 species of butterflies and moths use this as a caterpillar host plant in our area (nwf.org)
Specialist Bee: Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023)
Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023
