Serviceberry
Amelanchier
Also called juneberry, shadbush, saskatoon and service berry
Serviceberry blooms from April through April.
Mature size, 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.
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.
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. For the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8 range, 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: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in March.
Comes in 6 varieties
Same plant, same care - pick the variety you are growing.
Good to know about Serviceberry
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
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.
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.
Aster
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in early fall, 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.
Tulip Tree
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; both are native plants.
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.
Pentas
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; a soft color beside the white.
Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
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; a soft color beside the white.
Clematis
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; shorter at 9.8 ft, an understory layer.
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