North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@uslink.net>]

Mark,

    I was so satisfied with my first planting of 8 Aronia seedlings that I ordered 25 more.  It makes a wonderful jelly and, surprisingly, customers buy it even though the name (Aronia) is unfamiliar to them.  Some folks call it "Chokeberry" and I cannot imagine why because the freshly picked berries are delightful to eat.  Named varieties?  I didn't know there was any but I'd bet they cost a whole lot more than the $3.50 each I paid from Burnt Ridge Nursery.

 

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell] 

  

 

 

I currently do not have any Aronia growing in my Seattle-area edible
landscape. I saw some bushes at a local park recently that were loaded with
fruit. I did some research on-line and found that the sugar levels can be
very high, around 24 brix, and read that the 2nd most popular ice cream
flavor in Poland is Aronia (what is the most popular?). My New Year's
resolution is to add this fruit to my garden. As far as yield and flavor
goes, Nero gets the best reviews. What do you guys say? I also noticed that
Raintree offers both named selections and seedlings. Has anyone had any
interesting results experimenting with Aronia seedlings?
-Mark Lee, Seattle