To add to the confusion, the two species easily crossbreed to form hybrids.Īmelanchiers make a great landscape plant. Even leaves on the same plant can look different depending where on the plant they are growing. It’s often hard to tell which one you have because sometimes the leaves change their appearance though the growing season. There are a couple of different species native to Michigan ours is Amelanchier laevis, commonly called Smooth Serviceberry because of its smooth leaves The other species, downy serviceberry, has fuzzy leaves. Ours has always been growing as a shrub, even before the powerline clearing. That sounds like an inauspicious beginning, but it's a common way many plants spread their seeds.Īmelanchier grow either in a shrub form or as a small tree, usually topping out at about 15 to 20 feet tall. Then one of the seeds sprouted right where it landed and began growing. Years ago, some neighborhood bird, after gorging itself on serviceberries, passed the seeds through its digestive system, depositing them as it perched on the wire. It’s no accident ours is located right under the powerline. I know there are other serviceberry trees in the area. The birds will just have to go somewhere else. ![]() I’ve only tasted a few berries in the past because of the birds, so I plan to cover this one with bird netting. The berries are such a favorite of birds that they will strip a bush clean very quickly before people have a chance to pick any. There’s a reason why it’s called Juneberry it produces small blueberry-like berries that ripen in June. You do have to put your nose right up to the flowers to get a whiff of it, though. ![]() Although I’ve never seen it noted by experts in their descriptions of amelanchier flowers, ours has a wonderful sweet scent of vanilla, almonds and powdered sugar, all rolled into one.
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