And this lovely tree leaves you with a nice silvery gray bark for the winter months. These leaves change to a brilliant gold to red in the fall. Throughout the summer the serviceberry has beautiful full medium sided simple leaves. The berries change from green, to pink, to red, and then a dark purple when they are fully ripe. The berries begin to take shape through May and ripen in late spring to early summer (June). These become sweetly fragrant white blooms in the spring (April). The Downy Serviceberry has silvery fuzzy buds in late winter. They do tolerate pruning so you can use several planted together to form a living shrub fence or prune into a tree shape as a single small tree. The Downy Serviceberry ( Amelanchier arborea ) is a large shrub or small tree which reaches 15-20 feet in height. There are several different varieties of serviceberry with variations in height, fruit ripening time, and fall color. Serviceberries, also known at Juneberries or Saskatoon, are native to Illinois and many of our neighboring states. Plants need little pruning to develop a strong structure.Īpple serviceberry has been in cultivation since 1870.By Erin Harper, University of Illinois Extension Many birds and animals are extremely fond of the fruits.Īpple serviceberry can be trained to grow with a single trunk. Plants can be propagated by softwood cuttings.Īpple serviceberry is susceptible to rusts, blights, powdery mildew, leaf minors, leaf spot, borers and scale. Transplant balled and burlapped or container grown plants into moist, well-drained, acid soil. Growth is best in full sun to light shade and moist, well-drained, acid soils. Serviceberries are extremely adaptable to a variety of sites and soils. The main ornamental feature is the white flowers borne in drooping clusters in mid spring. It can be planted singly as a specimen or in groupings. Apple serviceberry is best used in a naturalistic planting and to attract wildlife. Apple serviceberry grows in sun or partial shade. It has rosy pink buds that open to very pale pink flowers.Īpple serviceberry is superior to either parent species in that it suckers less and is adaptable to a wide variety of soils in pH range from 4.0-8.0. ‘Robin Hill’ offers distinctly pink buds that fade to white flowers and tree-like habit. ‘Royal Family’ series (‘Princess Diana’, ‘Prince Charles’, and ‘Prince William’) have abundant flowers, excellent fall color, and attractive form. ‘Cumulus’ is a tree form with exceptionally abundant flowers. ‘Ballerina’ has large flowers nearly 1 inch across and purple fall color. ‘Autumn Sunset’ has pumpkin-orange fall color and exceptional drought tolerance. ‘Autumn Brilliance’ has persistent leaves that prolong the fall season, and rapid growth. Most of the cultivated varieties of serviceberry are selections of Amelanchier x grandiflora. Bark is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact. The bark of older trees is dull grayish brown. The fruit is edible, sweet, 3/8 inch across and red to purple at maturity. The flowers are borne in early spring and are at first tinged with pink but later fade to white. White flowers occur in fleecy clusters (panicles). The fall color is yellow to orange.Īpple serviceberry offers white flowers that are larger than those of other serviceberries. Newly emerging leaves are purplish and slightly pubescent (covered with short soft hairs), a character that distinguishes the hybrid from its parents. Leaves are simple, alternate, and 2 to 4 inches long. Multiple stems are upright and highly branched forming a dense shrub, or if properly pruned, a small tree with a vase shaped form and an irregular outline or silhouette. It exhibits characteristics intermediate between those of the parent species. The Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission does not rank apple serviceberry as a plant of conservation concern.Īpple serviceberry is a naturally occurring hybrid between Amelanchier arborea and Amelanchier laevis that grows 15 to 25 feet tall. Serviceberry may be a derivation of the word ‘sarvisberry’ for the resemblance of the fruits to the sarvis tree or European mountain ash fruits.Īpple serviceberry is a naturally occurring hybrid between downy serviceberry (A. Serviceberry refers to the Appalachian tradition of holding memorial services for the dead that coincided with the blooming of the serviceberries. Apple serviceberry, Amelanchier lamarckiiĪmelanchier is an old French name for snowy-mespilus (Amelanchier ovalis) lamarckii is Latin for the French scientist Lamarck who worked during the late 1700s and early 1800s.
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