This is especially important during spring's vegetative growth and fall fruit bud development. Substantial irrigation or fertilization in late summer and fall can delay the onset of dormancy and result in winter injury. Harvesting Chokecherries ripen from mid-July to September depending on the individual plant and the local climate. Handpicking is most economical during the first few years, with the use of hand rakes and power vibrators speeding up the process. Mechanical harvesters designed for other bush crops have been used successfully to harvest chokecherries, but are only economical for larger operations.
Labour costs are significantly lower for chokecherries than for raspberries.
The life span of a chokecherry ranges from 20 to 40 years. To maximize the use of a mechanical harvester, cultivars that can be harvested by the same harvester as saskatoons. There are many chokecherry cultivars to choose from, but Garrington would be a good example because it only grows to 2.4m and would fit inside the same harvester used for Smoky which is of similar size. Chokecherries have a wider window of harvest dates and more uniform ripening, and so can be harvested after saskatoons. If fruit cannot be processed within 24 - 48 hours, it is recommended that it be frozen immediately after harvest.