Aronia melanocarpa Hugin is a compact, rounded deciduous shrub with brownish spring growth, glossy dark green summer leaves, fragrant white to pink-tinged flower clusters, and blue-black edible fruit. Its foliage turns bright orange, yellow, and red in autumn, giving this useful fruiting hedge a long ornamental season.
Grow it in full sun for the strongest flowering, fruiting, and autumn color, or use partial shade. It accepts clay, loam, or sand when the soil remains moist but well drained, and regular water during establishment and dry spells supports a reliable crop.
The small pomes ripen from late summer into autumn and are best processed into juice, jam, jelly, or other cooked preserves because they are bitter and astringent raw. Mulch the root area, avoid routine annual fertilizer, and thin crowded growth in late winter.
