Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) is a small, native tree, which grows wild from
Maine to the Carolinas. It is also called Saskatoonberry, Juneberry, Shadberry,
Shadbush, and many other names. Serviceberry is being used extensively now in
native landscaping, so you can find small groves of it in many public areas.
It can be grown as a small tree or large shrub - reaching
less than 25 feet tall. It is not picky about soil type and does well in sun to
part-shade conditions. The trees bloom in early spring with tiny white to
light-pink flowers.
Serviceberry also has a lovely fall color. One of the most
popular varieties is ‘Autumn Brilliance’ - which has blazing foliage in brilliant
reds, oranges, and yellows.
The berry is similar to a blueberry in size and flavor, but
is much sweeter and has a small, edible seed inside each berry. The seed is
reminiscent of an almond in flavor.
The season to pick the berries is late May to mid- June.
They do not have to be fully blue to be ripe, so pick them when they are any
shade from burgundy to purple. Do so quickly before the birds get them and
before any signs of rust appear on the fruit, which happens commonly in our
area.
The rust appears as a hard green spot on the fruit which
erupts into a coating of orange powdery spores. It is unsightly and it will
ruin any of the berries that it infects, but it will not hurt or kill the tree
itself.
You can adapt most any blueberry recipe and substitute in
serviceberry -- just drastically drop the amount of sugar or leave it out
entirely as this berry is much sweeter than a typical blueberry.*
Serviceberry - You Can Grow That!
*See our easy Serviceberry Sauce recipe at: https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2014/06/serviceberry-sauce-recipe.html.
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Hi, thanks for this. We have several eastern red cedars in the yard and it is my understanding that they and serviceberries do not mix well?
ReplyDeleteCorrect, the cedars are the cause of the rust issues on serviceberries, but cedars are planted everywhere in our communities, so it is pretty much unavoidable.
DeleteMost timely! A damaged serviceberry is available to me, and loving to rescue plants I am still thinking about it. My optimum spot is very close to my cedar tree, so it is most helpful that that is not a preferable place!
DeleteYes, as far away from that Cedar as you can get!
Delete