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Serviceberry
Amelanchier
Also called juneberry, shadbush, saskatoon and service berry
Serviceberry blooms from April through April.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Serviceberry
Plant it in part sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 20 ft tall and 16 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 10 years (not yet checked).
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Serviceberry
Plant Serviceberry in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms in April.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Serviceberry get?
20 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult16 ftwideSee Serviceberry in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Serviceberry
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Serviceberry about 16 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Serviceberry to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Serviceberry's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 11 published sources on July 30, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Clemson Home and Garden Information CenterServiceberryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionAmelanchierheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenAmelanchier arboreaheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenAmelanchier laevisheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenAmelanchier canadensisheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- The Morton ArboretumDowny serviceberryheight, hardiness zones, sun, years to mature size and trait tags
- University of Florida IFASUF/IFAS Extension ST073 (Amelanchier arborea, Downy Serviceberry)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and years to mature size
- University of Minnesota ExtensionServiceberryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower CenterAmelanchier arboreaheight, sun and trait tags
- University of Maryland ExtensionServiceberry: An Early-Flowering Maryland Native Treeheight, sun and trait tags
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureWisconsin Horticulture, Division of Extension (Serviceberry, Amelanchi...sun and years to mature size
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Comes in 6 varieties
Same genus, similar care - pick the variety you are growing.
Compare every variety in the Serviceberry group
Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Variety | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Brilliance | White | Apr | Zones 4–8 | Part sun | 20 ft × 16 ft |
| Ballerina | White | Apr | Zones 4–8 | Part sun | 20 ft × 16 ft |
| Cole's Select | White | Apr | Zones 4–8 | Part sun | 20 ft × 16 ft |
| Princess Diana | White | Apr | Zones 4–8 | Part sun | 20 ft × 16 ft |
| Rainbow Pillar | White | Apr | Zones 4–8 | Part sun | 20 ft × 8 ft |
| Regent | White | Apr | Zones 3–8 | Full sun | 6.5 ft × 6.5 ft |
| Serviceberrythis page | White | Apr | Zones 4–8 | Part sun | 20 ft × 16 ft |
Good to know about Serviceberry
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Safety
The berries are edible, but the seeds, leaves and wood hold cyanogenic glycosides and can poison browsing livestock; the fruit itself is safe for people and birds. per PubMed Central and ASPCA
Worth knowing
The rust diseases that hit it cannot complete their life cycle without a nearby juniper or red cedar, so siting it away from those beats spraying. per University of Maryland
Hardiness depends on the species
Sources give roughly 4 to 9 for the genus, but the cold-hardy natives (canadensis, alnifolia, arborea) reach zone 3. Identify your species to know its real limits. per Clemson and Wisconsin
Four seasons of interest
White flowers in early spring, blue-black berries in early summer, gold-to-orange-to-red fall color, and smooth gray bark for winter: the sequence on one small tree. per NC State
Birds beat you to berries
The blueberry-like berries ripen blue-black in early summer (hence 'juneberry'), but robins, cedar waxwings and other birds usually strip them first. Net or pick early. per NC State
Early food for pollinators
Among the first woody plants to flower, it feeds native bees, butterflies and flies when little else blooms, and hosts red-spotted purple and viceroy caterpillars. per NC State
More sun, more everything
It tolerates shade but flowers and fruits poorly there. More sun means more spring bloom, more June berries, and better fall color, so give it a bright spot. per Clemson
What pairs well with Serviceberry
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Rhododendron
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Perennial Sunflower
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in late summer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Sneezeweed
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Joe Pye Weed
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Ninebark
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; shorter at 6.5 ft, an understory layer.
Weigela
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; shorter at 5 ft, an understory layer.
Hybrid Tea Rose
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; shorter at 4 ft, an understory layer.
Lavender
Takes full sun to part sun and low to moderate water; blooms in early summer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
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