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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) |
