4 Serviceberries That Attract Pollinators and Support Wildlife!

🍒🍒🍒🍒 Purchase the serviceberry cookbook I talk about in the video here: amzn.to/3zKGaAg 🍒🍒🍒🍒
🍎🍎🍎🍎 Learn about another small native tree that pollinators and wildlife love that also produces edible fruit in this video about native crabapples: • 3 Native Crabapples Y... 🍎🍎🍎🍎
Have any cool stories about serviceberries? Please share with us in the comments!
This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission.
The native serviceberries, the Amelanchier species, are excellent for pollinators and wildlife and are considered a keystone plant group in eastern North America. Not only are the flowers visited by a huge variety of pollinators, but serviceberries are also host plants and their fruits provide food for birds and wildlife - and even us! I cover four species that are commonly sold by native plant nurseries, give some interesting facts about them and even discuss eating and cooking with them.
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to the Native Serviceberries the Amelanchier Species
0:27 Common Serviceberry (Downy Serviceberry) Amelanchier arborea
1:28 Why Some Serviceberries Are Known as Shadbushes
1:58 Smooth Shadbush (Allegheny Serviceberry) Amelanchier laevis
2:31 How to Tell Common Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) From Smooth Shadbush (Amelanchier laevis)
2:55 Pollinator and Wildlife Use of Serviceberry and Species That Use It as a Host Plant
3:40 Canadian Serviceberry Amelanchier canadensis
4:11 Choosing a Serviceberry for Your Yard or Location
4:40 Eating and Cooking with Serviceberries and Nutritional Information
5:30 Serviceberries Are Self Fertile but Still Need Two
5:40 Dwarf Serviceberry (Running Serviceberry) Amelanchier spicata

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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!

[@sarahgracesings]

Fantastic-now I want one!

[@BackyardEcology]

You will love it!

[@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!

[@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

[@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!

[@outdoorztime2923]

Thanks!

[@BackyardEcology]

Thank you so much!

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@PlantNative]

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

[@BackyardEcology]

Nice!!

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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