Question:
What are serviceberries?Answer:
Serviceberries are members of the genus Amelanchier. Other common names for plants in the genus Amelanchier include juneberry, saskatoon, shadbush, sarvisberry, and sugar plum.
Serviceberries are dual-purpose plants. They are planted as ornamentals for their masses of showy, white flowers in early spring and colorful fall foliage. They are also grown for their edible fruit. The blueberry-like fruit may be eaten fresh, baked in pies or other desserts, canned, or made into wine, jams, or preserves.
While the fruit on all Amelanchier species are edible, cultivars of Amelanchier alnifolia are the most productive and produce the best quality fruit.
Serviceberries can be successfully grown in partial shade to full sun. However, plant in full sun for maximum fruit production.
Available cultivars
- ‘Smokey’
- ‘Northline’
- ‘Thiessen’
- ‘Regent’
- ‘Pembina.’
Learn more in this article: Serviceberries.