Viking Aronia Berry vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Viking Aronia Berry vs Bilberry

Aronia melanocarpa Viking

Vaccinium myrtillus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Viking Aronia Berry
Bilberry

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.

Bilberry is a native perennial shrub valued for its small, blue-black berries that ripen in mid to late summer. The berries resemble blueberries but have a richer, more tart, and intense flavor. They have long been used for fresh eating, baking, and preserves, while also providing food for birds and mammals. In spring, its delicate pinkish flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

Growing low to the ground, Bilberry forms spreading colonies that create dense understory cover. This growth habit provides food and shelter for wildlife, and its foliage adds seasonal interest by turning red to purple in autumn. With its adaptability and ecological benefits, Bilberry is well-suited for naturalization, ecological restoration, and pollinator gardens.

Viking Aronia Berry Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: medium


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Flowers: white
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: small black berries
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Flavor: astringent
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: black chokeberry viking, viking chokeberry
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry