serviceberry tree

I recently ordered a Serviceberry tree. Has anyone had any experience with this tree, pest or deseases, how mature it will be before bearing fruit, any special care requirerments? It should be a 3 year old tree when it arrives.

I planted an Amelanchier grandiflora last summer... maybe 3 and 1/2 ft. tall. Planted it in June (that's when it usually fruits). I'll be watching this thread to see what info you get :) I planted mine for the birdies...

Hugs :)

I have lived around Service, Amelanchier shrubs/trees all my life. Haven't eaten a whole lot since the birds really love them. I dug one up and replanted here 10 years ago, it is probably 12 x 12 feet now. Has lots of berries and I might eat 20 or 12 not even ripe ones because the birds get them.But then that's why I planted it. I Also bought and planted Amelanchier grandiflora Forest Prince about five years ago. I am training it to a tree and it is quite attractive. As far as I know there are no problems with growing them. I don't fertilize, other than a little compost, or spray them. Good trees. DonnaS

Thanks for the info, I guess the birds reaslly like the berries. I found with my raspberry bushes if I hang old CD's from the branches, it keeps the birds away. I just drill a hole in the outer edge and thread fishing line through it, tie it to the branch so when the wind blows the disc spins. It isn't 100% effective, so both tweety and I both get our share of the berries. I ordered a Robin Hill tree, any sugestions on how to train it into a tree rather than a shrub?Thanks, Gil.

Gil I am sorry not familiar with Robin Hill Tree is it a type of service berry or something entirely different. DonaS

Hi Donna, Robin Hill is a amelanchier X grandiflora from England that is suppose to grow to 30 ft. I ordereed it from Raintree Nursery in Morton, Wash.(near you?) but the only information they gave me was its height and that it can be trained into a tree. The main reason I ordered this type of seviceberry was it is suited for a urban enviroment. I would hate to have it grow 30 ft. wide as well as a shrub, every bird in North America would be living in my backyard and leaving little gifts for me on my car, deck, etc. Gil.

Lol, Gil :) Assuming that the shrub can be trained the same as any other shrub, try looking up "training a standard" as a Google search. Beyond that, I would say that you only want to "train" or prune the shrub when it is dormant. Take a good look at it, and see if you can "visualize" one of the main branches as the central leader. You'll want to prune off everything but that central branch :) If there are many main branches, check with someone before you go chopping off half the shrub, though.

I know there are lots of sites with information on training shrubs into standards on the internet. Hope you get it looking just like you want :)

Hugs :)

Gil, glad you clarified, Raintree is about 4 or 5 hours southwest of here. I order from them but have never been to their nursery. Hugs gave you good advise. I trained my Purple Prince the way Hugs said, and am very happy with it.You do have to watch for suckers coming up. I had a couple that I hadn't noticed last summer and pruned them off below ground level. Good luck DonnaS

Thanks to you both, I 'll keep in touch as to my luck growing and shapeing(and hopefully eating) my serviceberry. Remember green side up on the turf!

Is there a service berry variety that might survive my area? It hits 104 degrees and bone dry most years and has hit 112. I used to enjoy the berries hiking in Virginia, and I would absolutely love to grow one here!

I'm in zone 5 and of course colder than you but in the summer temp. quite often gets up to 80 - 100 degrees and as you zone dry. I irrigate 7 or 8 months of the year. I would think that almost any of the amelanchiers would grow for your. DonnaS

Thanks rutholive, I will go ahead and get 3 of them, (I like getting 3 varieties of anything so they cross pollinate and maybe their babies will be better adapted to my environment.) Any varieties particularly robust, delicious and productive?

throneofyord, I have only bought the one service berry Purple Prince, and I bought it because has pretty purplish leaves. The others that I grow are the native ones to this area that either the birds plant or I dug up. Sorry can't be of more help. DonnaS

The serviceberry that I have is Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance'. Have no idea about what it'd do in warmer zones, but the Fall color is supposed to be fantastic. Mine is only a year old, so i can't give much help, but 'Autumn Brilliance' is a popular cultivar & I think it's in the plants database :) Best wishes!

Hugs :)

I planted 5 Amelanchier Canadensis 'ShadBush' 2 years ago. They go into bloom just as the Shad start to run up the rivers. Last Spring the bloom was spectacular and the berry set was good. Soon after the fruit set they were covered with a "moldy looking, fungus looking" growth that eventually caused the fruit to wither and fade (no treats for the birds). I don't know what it was or how to cure it, but some say that it might be related to something carried by nearby junipers. This might not be any help, or it might spur some conversation?

Snowbound in the North East!

I just ordered five of them from The University of Idaho. They have a 100% rating with Dave's. They cost $1.50 each so it is an inexpensive experiment.
http://seedlings.uidaho.com/
If they work at all for me then I will try Forest Farm's 'Jennybelle' It looks like a costal and southern variety so it may survive the alternating bone dry and 100+ for weeks or 100% humidity and 100+ for weeks that thins out all but the most mold and drought intollerant.

I think I've decided to replace a plum tree here with an Allegheny Serviceberry in addition to the Apple Serviceberry I already have. Should be fun to watch how these guys do :)

As I was researching my Allegheny Serviceberry online tonight, I came across this info on the "Robin Hill" Serviceberry :)

http://www.midwestlandscapeplants.org/plantdetails.cfm?speciesid=461

Hugs :)

I planted 2 of them last year. They're still doing well but they are only 3 feet tall.

Thanks Hugs for the Hyperlink. It looks like I wouldn't have to prune or shape the tree as much as I thought according to the images on the site.Too bad about Firsthyme losing the berrys to a fungus/mold. I had a similar problem with my plum tree last year and was told to use a spray of 1/4 milk to 3/4 water an spray daily for a week and then for maintance afterwards and it did work. Supposedly it was a blight (like the one that hit the Irish potato crop 175 years ago) and it affected fruits and vegtables up here.The local ag office said it was caused by a very wet / cold spring and summer here in N.W. Pa..Don't feel too bad Firsthyme about the weather, it is snowing again here in Erie, adding more to the 100 plus inches of snow we have gotten so far this winter. By the way, is Rhode Island big enough to plant trees on ? Gil.

Thanks for the tip Snipper!
We are indeed a small State but our "official" name is quite large.
"The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations".
The name might also suggest that we can grow some stuff.
I'll try the "milkshake". Thanks again.