4 Serviceberries That Attract Pollinators and Support Wildlife!

[@PaulFriederichs-zw2wm]

I had not heard of them as of May 2023. A friend showed me my driveway through the woods was coated with Juneberry trees. We tried them and I couldn't get enough. Crazy delicious!

[@BackyardEcology]

Awesome!

[@dankeener3307]

We acquired serviceberry trees by digging up a section of our yard under our tall pin oak tree. Edged the borders throwing the sod, roots up, on the mound and covering it with sections of wet newspaper and wood chips. Cedar waxwings ate the berries from our neighbor’s serviceberry tree and sat in our pin oak and the magic happened. I’ve left a few in the bed and planted a few in a nearby park with their ok. Thx for spreading the news for this great native tree for us and wildlife. Never knew about the shad story. Interesting!

[@BackyardEcology]

Nice! The birds sure do love the serviceberries! Glad you liked the shad story.

[@LeanneD4]

Great info! We have 5 A. arborea and 3 large ‘Autumn Brilliance’ hybrids (A. arborea x A. laevis). The berries are excellent right off the tree. We’ve also added them to pancakes. Perfect little trees for multi-season interest!

[@BackyardEcology]

Serviceberry is hard to beat!

[@jvp714]

I just bought a non destricpt "Juneberry". I have 1/8 acre that I'm hoping to plant a couple juneberries, pears, plums, and mulberries on. I'm also experimenting with keeping some of them potted to increase the variety and quantity.

[@BackyardEcology]

Sounds great!

[@xiomararichardson1320]

So happy I found ur channel! Love it I have a common serviceberry which I think is about 2-3 years. Is it too young to flower? I have not had any flowers yet. I only have one as well

[@BackyardEcology]

Probably not mature enough to fruit yet.

[@jpe1]

When I was a child I only ever heard them called Juneberries, because they bloom in June, and as an adult I was told that the Serviceberry name came from the fact that they bloom when it’s time for burial services (in other words, that the ground has thawed enough to dig graves). Regardless, mine have set fruit and should be ready to eat in 3 to 4 weeks, looking forward to it, I love the berries.

[@BackyardEcology]

Hopefully you can beat the birds to them! Serviceberries are considered the best tasting native wild berry by many. There are many stories as to why it is called serviceberry. A book could be written about them.

[@deepost2604]

I had two bushes of the dwarf variety. They primarily provided food for birds as I found their fruit too small and hard to my liking.

[@BackyardEcology]

The larger species have bigger, juicier berries, but the birds love them all!

[@phillyhippie]

Is dwarf service berry a cultivar?

[@BackyardEcology]

No, it is a species.

[@fabricdragon]

how would i tell if i bought the dwarf variety? just... if it stays short?

[@BackyardEcology]

The tag should have had the scientific name on it, but if not once it gets leaves and flowers on it you could ID it to species. Also, the dwarf service berry is a suckering, thicket forming shrub so it will start to sucker as it grows.

[@joebyars]

Is the dwarf serviceberry (Amelanchier spicata) native to Michigan? Having a hard time finding information on the species. Any help is appreciated.

[@BackyardEcology]

Yes it is! Dwarf serviceberry has been recorded throughout Michigan.

[@stevegaskill1715]

My city in Indiana has serviceberry planted along several of my local streets. My 11 year old daughter and I rode our bikes, collected berries, and made some amazing jam last summer. I now have 4 small ones growing and can't wait for them to get bigger! Thanks for the great videos!

[@BackyardEcology]

Nice! I bet those streets are a beautiful sight in the early spring.

[@outdoorztime2923]

I planted one of these last year. This winter I believe I'm going to transplant it to an area of the yard that gets much more sunlight. Currently, it is only about 2.5' tall and hasn't grown much. One tree that has really grown well (planted in full sun) is the Washington Hawthorn. I live in Northern Arkansas and I love to plant shrubs and trees that help birds and wildlife.

[@BackyardEcology]

Serviceberry will grow in the shade but for maximum flower and fruit production it does best with at least half a day of sun. Hawthorns are great for wildlife! I plant to do a video on them in the future.

[@GoldenLife-uq2ms]

LOVE THIS! So to the point with variety and insights! Well done. Thanks!

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found it useful!

[@GoldenLife-uq2ms]

Totally intrigued with the Dwarf Serviceberry A. Spicata. Would you know where we could get one in Western North Carolina? Our Native nursery grows A. Arborea only. Also, can these trees thrive in containers? Thank you! @@BackyardEcology

[@BackyardEcology]

I would contact the NC native plant society as they will know the native nurseries in your state. I have seen A. arborea grown in large pots and they do OK, but to really thrive and fruit well they need to be in the ground.@@GoldenLife-uq2ms

[@johnhartman8086]

This guy knows what he is talking about.!!

[@dflash77yt]

I’ve been waiting for this video, thanks! I learned a ton! What is the native range of the dwarf serviceberry?

[@BackyardEcology]

I'm glad you asked that - I somehow left the range map for A. spicata out of the video! I will post it in the community tab.

[@GoldenLife-uq2ms]

Thanks for this! I love these trees. They grow without any challenges in our downtown in North Carolina. We bought two and planted them in a garden in Tennessee, South Facing sun. They are struggling. We planted them last fall and this summer they don't look great. We self-watered so no drip line this could be one reason they are not happy. But what we are also wondering is if they are getting TOO much sun? Do they do better as an understory planting? We have them in between our blueberries SOUTH facing. Also, wondering what we organic material we should use to fertilize them? Much appreciation!

[@BackyardEcology]

They may be getting a bit too much direct sunlight. Serviceberry fruits best when it gets plenty of light, but being in direct sunlight most of the day might be a bit much. Most trees and shrubs don't require any application of fertilizer. You could top dress a bit of compost under the drip line once a year if you like, but it isn't required.

[@sarahgracesings]

Fantastic-now I want one!

[@BackyardEcology]

You will love it!

[@outdoorztime2923]

Thanks!

[@BackyardEcology]

Thank you so much!

[@piaonomata9220]

It's a little ironic that you were boosting the crabapple vid at the end...the one huge drawback to Amelanchier is that it is a surrogate for apples in hosting cedar-apple rust. Shrubs affected with the rust can have entire fruiting seasons ruined. If your neighborhood has lots of cedar or apple trees, Amelanchier may not be the best choice. We're lucky enough to live in a town that uses them as a landscaping plant around its public buildings, so toward the end of May I have it hard-coded into my routine to go around scouting for ripe, non-rust-afflicted berries. They are delicious, with (to my sensibility) a richer, more complex taste than blueberries. Their seeds are larger than blueberry seeds, but not hard to crunch through. I can personally attest that the jam they yield is also delicious.

[@BackyardEcology]

There is no shortage of cedar in the southeast so it is hit or miss with many shrubs in the rose family when it comes to fruiting. With fire being removed from the management of most wild lands cedar is way more common than it was historically. I still see plenty of wild serviceberry producing good crops though, although there are times when they get hammered by CAR.

[@geraldstone8396]

Thank you. Best serviceberry video I have seen.

[@BackyardEcology]

Wow, thanks! Glad you liked it!

[@eliseville]

Bummed. Very nice descriptions, but completely left out the drought tolerant California Native, Amelanchier alnifolia that I am considering for my Zone 9b chicken pasture!

[@BackyardEcology]

This channel covers the eastern US because that's where I live and I am familiar with the species that live here. Once you get a state west of the Mississippi River things are totally different. Impossible to cover the entire US and do it well.

[@davehendricks4824]

I’ve got Saskatoon in my yard. Had 3. The rabbit ate one to the ground. Now there’s cages around them until they get bigger. Keep these videos coming! Love ‘em!

[@BackyardEcology]

Saskatoons taste great! Their range is mainly west of the area I cover in my videos, but as far as fruit quality they are excellent.

[@troygillespie]

Another cool thing about Saskatoons (Western Serviceberry) is they have the best tolerance to basic pH soils we have in the Great Plains. There are a ton of cultivars bred for cultivation of berries, so they are often heavy cropped or enlarged berries. Regent is an outstanding one! They are candy for rabbits though.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@troygillespie Saskatoons are the best eating serviceberries. Rabbits like them too - unfortunately they prefer the bark. Rabbits aren't as much of a problem in the southeast (for out native serviceberries) until we get snow. Then they go into bark eating mode.

[@outdoorztime2923]

That's good information! Thanks for sharing.@@troygillespie

[@eliseville]

Important warning. Thanks, but I'm already planning serious protection in my chicken pasture with the same issues!

[@paulined5710]

Hi there! I actually found you because I'm considering a nyssa sylvatica for my small backyard. Anyway, my backyard is probably 20 ish ft wide and then there is a single story single vehicle garage. I would like some shade, but I would also like to benefit wildlife and stay native. Do any of the serviceberries grow more in a manner where one might be able to sit under them for shade? Some of the pictures give me hope, but I don't know if those are exceptions or norms for some of them. Hope this makes sense. Thanks!

[@BackyardEcology]

They all tend to want to multi-trunk or sucker but they can be trained to a single trunk with pruning. Some will just grow that way also if you happen to get lucky!

[@paulgroth3345]

One of my neighbors and myself have been wanting to put serviceberries in where we live . We are on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state with an east Southeast face in a marine environment at 500 ft of elevation. Can you make any suggestions for us?

[@BackyardEcology]

The native serviceberry there would be the Saskatoon Berry, Amelanchier alnifolia. It is common throughout the west and has what many consider to be the best tasting berries!

[@blefnefnef]

Theyre good! If you bite the end you picked them from the tree & give em a pinch, they will pop out all their good developed seeds. Then I eat the whole fruit. They taste kinda like an apple when theyre red. Tart & sweet. I havent had a blue one yet.

[@BackyardEcology]

Awesome! They are super tasty!

[@BackyardEcology]

Have any cool stories about serviceberries? Please share with us in the comments! Learn about another small native tree that pollinators and wildlife love that also produces edible fruit in this video about native crabapples: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqnPgWejaLamfMk The range map for running serviceberry, A. spicata, was mistakenly left out of the video - oops! I have posted it in the community tab and it can be seen here: kzbin.info/door/RQSzkcCJzYK6cBVm66drQAcommunity?lb=Ugkxn4YPUkRN6P5THExHYwnX2VX6JM7iM4Il

[@baddriversofcolga]

Another name for the Common Serviceberry is Downy Serviceberry which refers to the hairy leaves.

[@BackyardEcology]

Yes! Serviceberries have a ton of common names associated with each species which is why the scientific names are so important.

[@stephenpickard3150]

We always called them Sarvice berries in eastern Ky. I’ve been looking for the white blooms this spring and they don’t seem to be as plentiful as years ago.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@stephenpickard3150 Sarvice Berry is the common name along the Appalachian Mountains, I hear both service and sarvice in my area. I didn't see many blooming at all this year.

[@kolankprof]

Great video, thanks! I sure wish I could save it to my Ecology library ... but sadly you've disabled the SAVE feature.

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you liked it! Not sure why it won't let you save it.

[@zestyconversation]

My husband & I just moved, but until a few days ago, we had a local supermarket with many serviceberry shrubs planted along the border of the parking lot! We picked a few quite late in their season, but they were ripe & reminded me a bit of beach rosehips in flavour. A bit of a shame we wont be around to collect some berries a little earlier in their season this year. Have you ever covered mountain-ash/rowan tree? I dont think most species are native to north america, but we do have native species very similar to the european species & they're one of my favourite Rosids! The pommes are great for jams, baking, teas, & can even be used similarly to coffee beans! (Definitely planning to sub to your patreon at the start of May! Can't believe I haven't stumbled on your channel before.) We live around the northern east coast, but I'm still very interested in the info you've provided about species that don't quite reach our region. Thank you for the comprehensive & passionate videos about native vs invasive plants. Tragically, this is a topic many people gloss over or simply don't care enough to learn about. I really love the energy you bring to these videos. 🙏

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying the channel! I haven't done any videos on mountain ash but it would be a great tree to feature.

[@PlantNative]

Ha! I have the spicata seed germinated!!!❤

[@BackyardEcology]

Nice!!

[@guillaumelafleche9477]

Have the amelachier canadensis and a cultivar, both still small, and another cultivar coming soon, but I was thrilled to discover several trees in my town at the beginning of last summer, around an intersection so obviously planted by the city, so I was finally able to taste them and introduce them to my family. It does taste somewhat like you would expect from something that looks like a blueberry, but with a delicious nutty taste similar to hazelnut if I remember correctly. Anyway, these trees are flowering right now so I discovered a ton of similar looking trees around town that I look forward to exploring in a couple months. If even just a quarter turn out to really be serviceberry, I think that I will eat like a king this summer.

[@BackyardEcology]

Serviceberry is gaining in popularity as a landscape plant, good to hear some cities are using it! You will have to be quick to get the berries, once the bords figure out they are around they will wipe them out - even before they are fully ripe.

[@rakelaa7234]

Hello Sr. Are all of these serviceberry edible?

[@BackyardEcology]

Yes, all serviceberries are edible. Some species are better for eating than others. The Saskatoon berry, A. alnifolia, is considered the best tasting and what most improved cultivars are derived from. It is however, not native to the eastern US except for MN and IA.

[@rakelaa7234]

@@BackyardEcology Thanks a lot for your swift answer. Very helpful

[@BackyardEcology]

You are welcome! @@rakelaa7234

[@maryschatz8406]

Firt gets cedar rust near cedars? Michigan has lots of cedars

[@BackyardEcology]

Yes, the service berries are susceptible to cedar apple rust like many fruits in the rose family (we hear about it most in reference to apples). It depends on what cedars are near the serviceberries - eastern red cedar and common cedar are both host for CAR. White cedar is not a host for CAR.