Viking Aronia Berry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Viking Aronia Berry vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

Aronia melanocarpa Viking

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Ben Sarek Black Currant
Viking Aronia Berry

Ben Sarek Black Currant is a compact, high-yielding Black Currant cultivar, making it ideal for smaller gardens and easy berry picking. The large clusters of flavourful, sweet-tart berries ripen in mid-summer and are perfect for fresh eating, preserves, baked goods, and liqueurs. Plants may start producing some berries after two years, reaching full production in about four to five.

Developed by the Scottish Crop Research Institute, Ben Sarek Black Currant is resistant to powdery mildew and moderately resistant to white pine blister rust. It is self-fertile, meaning it does not require cross-pollination from another variety to produce fruit.

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.

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Viking Aronia Berry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Flowers: white
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: black currants, edible
Berries: small black berries
Flavor: sweet-tart
Flavor: astringent
Harvest: mid-summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant
Other Names: black chokeberry viking, viking chokeberry