Serviceberry
This small tree thrives through all four seasons and offers so much to any garden. Abundant white blooms in spring are followed by delicious berries in summer, fiery foliage in fall, and silver bark in winter.
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Blooms, Berries, and Foliage
Serviceberry trees display white blooms just before their foliage emerges in early spring, offering some of the earliest sources of nectar for pollinators. The five-petaled flowers closely resemble apple blossoms, but with skinnier petals.
After the show of these blooms, clusters of edible berries form. As summer begins, the berry ripens to a deep red, then purple color. The berries make a wonderful substitute for blueberries and can be eaten fresh or made into jams and jellies. Birds also enjoy them.
Related: Best Berry Plants for Birds
Serviceberry foliage has an open and loose structure. This allows dappled light to shine through, which creates a space for part-shade plants to sit around the base. As nights cool in autumn, the blue-green foliage transforms into beautiful shades of orange and red.
How to Care for a Serviceberry
Serviceberry's habits are extremely versatile. It can be treated as either a large shrub or a small tree. Some species of serviceberry can sucker and create spreading colonies. In their natural habitat, these trees tend to do well in part shade.
Related: Our Favorite Small Trees
Serviceberry trees encounter very few problems. If you experience a particularly dry, hot summer, spider mites could appear on the foliage. In most cases, this will cause no long-term damage to the health of the tree; the effects are merely cosmetic. Serviceberry trees grow fast and can quickly fill a garden.
More Varieties of Serviceberry
'Regent' Serviceberry
Amelanchier alnifolia 'Regent' is a compact shrub that grows to 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. A native plant to the American Great Plains, it is quite drought tolerant. Its deep purple fruits make delicious jams, jellies, or pies. Zones 2-7
Common Serviceberry
Amelanchier arborea is also known as downy serviceberry, a reference to the fine hairs on its leaves and twigs. In cultivation, it grows 15 to 25 feet tall and wide, but in native woodlands, it may reach 40 feet tall. Its fall color is a delightful mix of orange, red, and gold. Zones 4-9
'Autumn Brilliance' Serviceberry
Amelanchier 'Autumn Brilliance' is a hybrid with exceptional fall color ranging from orange to red with gold overtones. It grows 15 to 25 feet tall and wide. Zones 4-9
'Cumulus' Allegheny Serviceberry
Amelanchier laevis 'Cumulus' is a narrow upright small tree that grows 25 feet tall and 12 feet wide. It is covered in clouds of white blossoms in spring. The purple fruits and red-orange fall color extend its seasons of beauty. Zones 4-8
Apple Serviceberry
Amelanchier X grandiflora 'Apple' is a hybrid with a graceful rounded form. It grows 20 to 25 feet tall and wide and bears profuse white blooms that are sometimes tinged pink. The pinkish-purple fruits resemble miniature apples. It is quite drought tolerant. Zones 3-8
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