Apple Serviceberry

I really need to look at the tags when I purchase from a nursery. I asked for Serviceberry and this is what I was shown, so I grabbed it...Read More. I would have preferred a non-hybrid, but since both parents are native, I'll live with it. Maybe the birds will poop the seeds elsewhere and those will grow pure.

The point of this plant was to replace the lilac with a native shrub. My hope is it grows into something dense enough to shelter the birds in the winter and strong enough to hold a few feeders. If it has pretty flowers and foliage, that's just a side benefit. My goal is to help the native species in the area, whether it is birds, or bugs.

This was already in bloom when we purchased it. They survived the transport home and I was delighted to see the flowers form into berries. What a pretty red they are. To my surprise, the ripening berries are already food for the birds! Today, a female Bluebird took a berry snack during her break from nest building. Very nice.

This is a hybrid between the Downy Serviceberry and the Alleghany Serviceberry. It usually seems closer to the Alleghany that has smaller...Read More leaves and hardly any plant hair. I question whether the two species should not really be just two different varieties, as they are so similar in about the same natural range. There are a number of cultivars selected from this hybrid for always having good form and fall color. All these serviceberries here don't have as many trunks or stems as the Shadblow Serviceberry. Very beautiful small tree with several trunks that should be used much more in landscaping as a number of other serviceberry species for their neat, clean habits, beautiful smooth gray bark, delicious fruit good for birds, and good autumn color. After a long, cool, wet spring, serviceberries can suffer some from Cedar Rust disease. Still a win-win situation.

Amelanchier x grandiflora is a very nice, small tree similar in many ways but a little more graceful than crabapples. Flowers are general...Read Morely white, a little earlier than crabs, and generally only last 3-5 days. The fruit that follows is small, dark, and often tasty, somewhat like a blueberry. You have to race the birds to taste a few. A few cultivars, such as the one called "Regent," are known for having larger and delicious fruit. The real reason to grow a serviceberry, however, is for the fall color, and unless you buy a named cultivar, I would strongly recommend buying your tree in the fall to select one with excellent color, because the color does vary amongst individuals.

Two mistakes I made in buying and siting mine. I didn't get one with very good fall color, and that has been a big disappointment, but, worse, I planted mine next to a white garage. Therefore, the white bloom is completely lost to the background.

So if you buy a serviceberry, make sure you get one with good color, and try to site it in front of evergreens or a dark background. You will be fully exploiting its ornamental potential by doing so.