Amur Chokecherry is pyramidal when young but ultimately forms a 30 to 40-foot-tall tree with a dense, rounded canopy which provides light shade below. The deciduous leaves are three inches long and are joined in early to mid-May by an explosion of white, fragrant flowers in two to three-inch-long racemes. The multitude of tiny black fruits which follow ripen in August and are quite attractive to birds. The bark is occasionally handsome cinnamon brown peeling off in shaggy masses on the trunk, but more often is an attractive brown with minimum exfoliation. This tree has some of the most attractive bark on any tree in North America. (1) Uses: Bonsai; container or above-ground planter; recommended for buffer strips around parking lots or for median strip plantings in the highway; near a deck or patio; specimen; residential street tree; no proven urban tolerance. Height: 30 to 40 feet
Spread: 25 to 35 feet
Crown uniformity: symmetrical canopy with a regular (or smooth) outline, and individuals have more or less identical crown forms.
Growth rate: medium
Trunk/bark/branches: routinely grown with, or trainable to be grown with, multiple trunks; grow mostly upright and will not droop; tree wants to grow with several trunks but can be trained to grow with a single trunk (Fig. 1); very showy trunk; no thorns. Needs little pruning to develop a strong structure
Drought tolerance: high, Aerosol salt tolerance: moderate.
Prune to open up the canopy to develop more of a tree-form, otherwise it looks like a large shrub. Remove interior branches and space main branches along the trunk. A more upright shape can be created by removing lateral branches, a more spreading shape can be promoted by removing upright branches. Use the tree along an entrance road to a commercial development planted on 20 to 25-foot centers or along side the patio or deck in the back yard. Amur Chokecherry should be grown in full sun on well-drained soil, and performs well only in the north. The trees should be located where the roots can remain moist, but not wet, as drought tolerance is not characteristic. Propagation is by softwood cuttings from June to July, or by seed. This tree is susceptible to infection by leaf spot. (1) | 
