Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Viking Aronia Berry - TreeTime.ca

Chester Thornless Blackberry vs Viking Aronia Berry

Rubus fruticosa Chester (Thornless)

Aronia melanocarpa Viking

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Chester Thornless Blackberry
Viking Aronia Berry

Chester Thornless Blackberry is a self-pollinating fruit-bearing shrub. In mid-summer, the Chester Thornless Blackberry produces large, sweet-tasting, heart-shaped blackberries that are perfect for fresh eating. It is a semi-erect blackberry plant that requires little support from a trellis to keep its fruit off the ground. Don't forget to protect your berries. The birds love this shrub almost as much as you will.

Chester Thornless Blackberries are floricanes, primarily fruiting on second year canes. Each spring cut back all two-year old canes, leaving only the last year’s growth.

Viking Aronia Berry is easy to grow, with black berries that are high in antioxidants. The Viking variety is much more productive than the non cultivar Aronia Berry. The berries can be eaten fresh but are found to be tart and bitter. They are more often used in baking, jams, juices, and wine. They have small, white flowers with a hint of pink that grow evenly on the shrub. The summer foliage turns a very attractive red in the fall.

The Viking Aronia Berry is a self-pollinating plant. Because of its uniformity and high yield, the Viking Aronia Berry is a popular cultivar.

Chester Thornless Blackberry Quick Facts

Viking Aronia Berry Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: medium


Flowers: pink
Flowers: white
Berries: heart shaped black
Berries: small black berries
Firmness: firm
Flavor: astringent
Harvest: July
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: chester blackberry, hardy blackberry
Other Names: black chokeberry viking, viking chokeberry