PSC 2620: Woody Trees and ShrubCourse HomeWeek 10

Amelanchier laevis - Alleghany Serviceberry

Plant Viewer
The leaf of Alleghany Serviceberry is elliptic with a finely serrated margin. Small five-petaled white blossoms bloom profusely in the spring.
The bark is smooth and has a red overcast. In summer, small pome fruit ripens to a dark bluish-black color. The fruit is edible. Image: Wikimedia.org

Plant Description

Amelanchier laevis, or Allegheny Serviceberry, is a large shrub or small flowering tree, growing 15-25 feet high and 10-15 feet wide. It is adaptable to a wide variety of soil conditions, including almost constantly moist to drought. Although Dirr believes states that it will not perform well under stressful conditions, I have used them successfully as parking strip trees and they have performed admirably on very minimal water in poor soil. It naturally occurs in a multi-stemmed form, but is readily available in tree form as well. The form is open and rounded.

The bark on new growth is reddish-brown and then turns to a gray color. When mature, it has delicate ridges that make it look like the stems are striped. The stems are slender, and even mature trees have comparably small branches.

The leaf is elliptic or ovate, 1 1/4 - 3 inches long with a subcordate base and arranged alternately on the stem. The margin of the leaf is finely serrated. The leaves are a medium to dark green color and often are tinged a dark reddish color when they emerge in the spring. New leaves are pubescent. In the fall the leaves turn a bright orange or red fall color, in my opinion some of the best quality color on a tree or shrub.

In the spring, the tree blooms profusely with small white blossoms appearing on 2-4 inch long hanging racemes. It would be more showy if the tree had a more dense canopy. Small bluish-black pome fruit forms on the tree during the summer and ripens by mid-summer. The fruit is edible and tastes similar to blueberry. If you don't harvest the fruit it is persistent, but the birds will pick the tree clean before any fruit could drop anyway.

Landscape Use

Serviceberry can be used in any number of settings. They make an excellent choice as a lawn tree or accent tree because of their multi-season interest. I have used them as street trees and find that they perform admirably and attract a lot of interest from the neighbors.

Points of Interest

Serviceberry is susceptible to fireblight and cedar serviceberry rust. Most of the popular cultivars have proven to have very little disease problem.

Notable Cultivars

Spring Flurry
The best cultivar of Amelanchier for street trees. It has a an upright oval form with a strong central leader and dense branching habit. The fall color is bright orange.



Amelanchier x grandiflora - Autumn Brilliance
A hardy Serviceberry with a strong branching habit and good upright rounded form. It has exceptional bright red fall color. Grows 20 feet high and 15 feet wide.