Juneberry (serviceberry) care

*Amelanchier* species -- called juneberry, serviceberry, Saskatoon, shadberry, or shadblow depending on region -- are native North American small trees or shrubs that produce one of the most delicious and earliest small fruits in temperate gardens. The berries ripen in June in most of the eastern.

Amelanchier species — called juneberry, serviceberry, Saskatoon, shadberry, or shadblow depending on region — are native North American small trees or shrubs that produce one of the most delicious and earliest small fruits in temperate gardens. The berries ripen in June in most of the eastern US (hence "juneberry"), before almost any other native fruit. Their flavor is often described as a cross between blueberry and almond, with a mild sweetness and slight nuttiness.

Serviceberries are also genuinely ornamental — four-season plants with white spring flowers, summer fruit, bright fall foliage, and attractive silvery bark in winter. They are arguably the single plant that combines the most ornamental and edible value of anything in this guide.

I don't grow juneberry at my Melville zone 7a garden, but several specimens of Amelanchier canadensis grow on my street and neighborhood. I've watched birds strip them bare within days of ripening.

Identification: major species

Per Missouri Botanical Garden:

• ***Amelanchier canadensis (shadblow serviceberry):* Multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, 6-20 feet. Native to wet sites in eastern North America. Zones 3-8.
• ***A. arborea (downy serviceberry):* Small tree, 15-25 feet. Native to upland sites across eastern North America. Zones 3-9.
• ***A. alnifolia (Saskatoon serviceberry):* Native to western North America; the species most commonly cultivated for fruit production in Canada and the northern US. 3-15 feet; zones 3-8.
• ***A. x grandiflora (apple serviceberry):* Hybrid between A. canadensis and A. laevis. Most common ornamental variety; includes cultivars like 'Autumn Brilliance' and 'Robin Hill'.

For fruit production, A. alnifolia and its cultivars are most productive. For ornamental-plus-fruit use, A. x grandiflora cultivars are excellent.