Saskatoon serviceberry
Amelanchier alnifolia · Rosaceae
Saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is a perennial shrub in the Rosaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 1 and warmer, down to about -62°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub Derived |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 15 ft USDA |
| Light | part-shade USDA |
| Water need | medium USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 4.8–8.4 USDA |
| Bloom | June USDA |
| Flower color | White USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 1 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
| Nursery availability | Routinely Available USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It grows in partial shade. USDA rates it as having moderate water needs. Its drought tolerance is rated low. It will not tolerate waterlogged soil — USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance as none. It is recorded on soils from pH 4.8 to 8.4 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 1.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 15 ft, making it a small tree or large shrub. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of June. Flowers are white.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, coarse in texture. Its flowers are conspicuous. Its fruit or seed heads are conspicuous, extending interest past flowering. Its active growth period is spring and summer. USDA rates its lifespan as short, so plan on replacing or resowing it rather than treating it as permanent structure.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 12 to 140 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 100 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 24 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.
Propagating it
It takes readily from seed, cuttings, bare root and container stock. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It spreads vegetatively at a moderate rate.
Resilience and wildlife
Browsing animals find it moderately palatable, so expect deer and rabbits to take an interest. Its fire tolerance is rated high, and it can resprout after damage. Its growth form is recorded as multiple stem.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Amelanchier
- common serviceberry Amelanchier arborea
- Canadian serviceberry Amelanchier canadensis
- Allegheny serviceberry Amelanchier laevis
- coastal serviceberry Amelanchier obovalis
Similar role and hardiness
- mountain alder Alnus viridis
- American red raspberry Rubus idaeus
- russet buffaloberry Shepherdia canadensis
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol AMAL2, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
USDA also lists this plant under symbol AMALS, recorded at a finer rank (variety or subspecies) under the same accepted name and common name. We show one entry rather than near-identical repeats; the figures above are those of AMAL2 alone, not an average across them.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, browse palatability, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, Edible, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer, Type.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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