Not all serviceberry fruit tastes the same. One advantage to humans of a serviceberry cultivar like ‘Autumn Brilliance’ is its reliably tasty fruit. This may not matter to avian frugivores like Mockingbirds and Cedar waxwings, which gobble up any serviceberry fruit, but human palates can be a bit fussier.Ĭultivars like ‘Autumn Brilliance’ can take the some of the guesswork out of fruit palatability to humans (but as noted, at the expense of genetic diversity). Fruit quality is also impacted by weather. The best serviceberry fruit develops when there is sufficient sunshine and rain in the early growing season. In spring seasons with excessive rain and limited sunshine, flowers will suffer along with the fruit.
Serviceberries provide a great way to connect children (and adults!) with the nature around them – watch the pollinators on the flowers in spring and enjoy the fruit in June – right off the tree in a bowl of cereal or perhaps cooked in a pie.The bees buzzing around my back yard know a good thing when they see it! They know that the little tree planted just outside my breakfast room is something special. But the bees are not there to admire the tree with its pretty five-petaled, star-shaped blossoms. They’re there along with the butterflies to feed on the plentiful nectar and pollen. Later on, around June, the blossoms will give way to sweet juicy berries. Then, the mockingbirds, bluebirds, finches, and other avian species will join the party.
So what’s so special about this tree? It’s a serviceberry – a native plant noted for its merits as a landscape plant and as a valuable host to a broad range of wildlife species. In the wild, serviceberries may be found growing in moist woodland sites and along streams. Their white to pinkish-white flowers are some of the first to appear in spring. Delicious raw, the fruit is also used for jams, jellies, and pies.Īmelanchier Canadensis (Serviceberry) Fall Foliage Their berries, edible by humans and wildlife alike, resemble blueberries in size and color but taste sweeter. The autumn foliage, which is characteristically orange to deep red with some shades of yellow or purple, is quite beautiful.
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