Service Berry

Amelanchier arborea

Size: 3, 7 & 15 Gallon Availability

Tree
Max Size: 40′ tall x 20′ wide
Average Size: 25′ tall x 15′ wide

Usually Moist, Moist to Dry, Very Dry
Clay, Loam, Sand
Full Sun, Part Shade, Shade

This pretty deciduous tree blooms in spring with white flowers, and in the fall turns orange or red. It can be left multistimmed to have the habit of a large shrub, or pruned up into a small tree. Pruning should be done in late summer after the tree has finished fruiting. Small mammals and birds eat the berries and it attracts a wide variety of native pollinators including; Andrenid bees (Andrena spp.), Halictid bees (Halictus spp., Lasioglossum spp.) and honeybees, as well as Syrphid flies, Tachinid flies, Buprestid beetles (Acmaeodera spp.), and other insects. It can be resistant to fires and mildly resistant to deer.

The berries on the tree ripen in summer and are edible. They are typically more enjoyable if they are dried or processed into jelly, jam, syrup, etc, instead of eaten fresh. Cherokee people used it to make a spring tonic