Mountain serviceberry

Photo: M.S. del, J.N.Fitch, lith. — Public domain · source

Survives zone 4 through 8

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

The odd one out in the genus: its fruit is oval to pear-shaped rather than round, up to 15mm long, and borne singly or in twos rather than in the usual raceme. Sweet, though accounts split on whether it is juicy or dry. A boreal bog-and-mountain species, and the hardiest serviceberry here.

Hardiness

Zone 4–8

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

July–Aug

Mature size

Upright shrub to 3 m; often multi-stemmed, sparsely branched

Light

Full sun to light woodland shade — fruits best in sun

Soil pH

5.5–7.0 (mildly acid to neutral) — dislikes chalk

Environment

Boreal

Native range

North-eastern North America — Labrador and Newfoundland west to Manitoba, south through New England and the Appalachians to Pennsylvania, in bogs, damp thickets and mountain slopes.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

3–4 yrs

Growth speed

20–40 cm/year — medium.

Spacing

180 cm (71 in) apart — about 3.2 m² (35 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Alternate, elliptic to oval, 2–6 cm long, finely and sharply toothed nearly to the base, thin-textured and hairless even when young — unusual in a genus whose leaves are usually downy as they open.

Root system

Shallow, fibrous and suckering, spreading into thickets by root shoots.

Fruit description

Round purple-black berry-like pomes 8–12 mm across, borne singly or in twos rather than in the usual raceme, sweet and juicy with a faint almond note from the soft pips.

Propagation

Division of rooted suckers is easiest. Seed needs about three to four months cold stratification and, being apomictic, comes largely true to the parent.

Pollination

Insect-pollinated and largely self-fertile, like the genus; a second plant improves set.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.