The Serviceberry also widely know as (among many other names) Juneberry, saskatoon, sarvisberry, mespilus, sarvis, shad-blossom, or shadbush--is reported to have a fine taste and will certainly be hardy here. But, as with other fruit plants, while the plant may be hardy, it does not follow as the night the day that the fruit will survive freezes; we thus prefer types that flower later then the average. Fortunately, as serviceberries have become better known and more popular, named cultivars, and information about them, are now much more available than was the case only a few years ago. Of the many cultivars, the two that emerge as the latest-flowering types to also have excellent fruit quality and wide availability are:
Northline, and
Honeywood.
Though the plants are self-fertile, we'd put in one of each, just to cover all the bases.
Note that by proper pruning and training, a serviceberry "bush" can be made to look very much like a fair-sized tree, and that is why we list the berry here, with fruit trees, rather than with berry bushes.
By the way: why the heck isn't this guy even better known? Not only does he produce delicious edible fruit, he is hardy from Zones 3 to 9, he reportedly makes superb fall foliage (many people put them in just for their decorative value--see image at left), is very drought-tolerant, is compact (circa 10 to 15 feet high) but so sturdy that he makes, and is commonly used for, an excellent windbreak, and is even self-fertile! America, what are you missing here? (Canada knows and loves it.) One problem may be that people who know the plant from landscape use may not realize that not all cultivars taste the same, by any means: though all the berries are edible, only those from species reckoned as food types will have the superior taste associated with this fruit.
Planting and Growing
Plan on putting your serviceberry seedling plants into the ground in late spring or early summer, say June. Set them in a full-sun location, keep them well watered, and consider some high-phosphate fertilizer.
Have patience: serviceberries show very little visible growth in their first year. But they should begin to flower and bear fruit in 3 to 4 years. They should reach peak production in 8 to 10 years, after which they will probably outlive you.
You will get zero fruit if you don't protect well against birds, which adore serviceberries. Don't just cast a net over the bush (or tree): make sure the net comes right down to the ground, and is secured there, else the little darlin's will hop right under it.
The fruit of the serviceberries are ripe so it must be time for breakfast at Kokopelli Nursery. Recently I was in the Serviceberry, Amelanchier, block of trees and shrubs helping a customer select one for a landscape. He caught me trying to pick some of the fruit.
Serviceberry fruit looks and tastes like blueberries. As the fruit matures, it changes color from red to bluish black. They are good in pies, jams and jellies. But, that's too much work for me. I just wander out to the block of trees and fill up a cup.