The common name of Juneberry is sometimes used because the fruit starts to ripen during that month. Other common names, shadbush, shadblow, and shadwood, allude to the fish that runs and spawn at the same time these plants bloom. Other names you may see are sugarplum, Indian pear, May cherry, saskatoon, sarvisberry, wild pear, wild plum, and chuckley pear. The purple pome fruits of the serviceberry are edible and can be eaten fresh or used to make jams or jellies. These shrubs are a great choice for inclusion in the landscape if you want to attract birds to your garden, since they love the fruits. If you want a tree with a fastigiate shape (upright with several leaders) or a column-like habit, look for the ‘Snowcloud’ variety. Other varieties available include ‘Cumulus’, ‘Prince Charles’, and ‘R.J. Hilton’.
Native Area: North AmericaUSDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Height: 15 feet to 30 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
riskms / Getty Images The variety pictured is ‘Cole’s Select’. ‘Autumn Brilliance’ offers red-orange foliage in the fall and resistance to diseases. You may also see ‘Autumn Sunset’, ‘Ballerina’, ‘Princess Diana’, ‘Prince Charles’, ‘Prince William’, ‘Robin Hill’, and ‘Rubescens’.
Native Area: NA; this is hybrid plant derived from two native North American speciesUSDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8Height: 15 feet to 25 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
seven75 / Getty Images Available cultivars include ‘Glenn Form’ (also known as ‘Rainbow Pillar’), ‘Prince William’, ‘Sprizam’ (also known as ‘Spring Glory’) and ‘Trazam’ (also known as ‘Tradition’).
Native Area: Eastern North AmericaUSDA Growing Zones: 4 to 7Height: 6 feet to 20 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Alexander Nesterov / Getty Images There are three different varieties that naturally occur. Amelanchier arborea var. arborea is the one generally known as the common serviceberry. The Alabama serviceberry is known as A. arborea var. alabamensis. Finally, the variety generally known as downy serviceberry is A. arborea var. austromontana.
Native Area: Eastern North AmericaUSDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9Height: 10 feet to 40 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Roel_Meijer / Getty Images This serviceberry received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. The species name of lamarckii was given for Jean Baptiste Antoine Monet de Lamarck, who was from France and lived in the 1700s. It has shown the potential to become invasive in some areas of Europe.
Native Area: North AmericaUSDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Height: 15 to 20 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
There are three different varieties that you may come across. They are Amelanchier sanguinea var. grandiflora, A. sanguinea var. gaspensis and A. sanguinea var. sanguinea.
Native Area: Southern Canada, northern portions of U.S. Midwest and East.USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 4Height: Up to 10 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
This species has at least four different varieties, including var. alnifolia, var. humptulipensis, var. pumila, and var. semiintegrifolia.
Native Area: Western North AmericaUSDA Growing Zones: mostly 4 to 9; some cultivars suitable as far north as zone 1Height: 4 to 40 feet, depending on the varietySun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
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Native Area: Central and southern EuropeUSDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9; may succeed in zone 4 with protectionHeight: up to 16 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
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Native Area: Western North AmericaUSDA Growing Zones: 6 to 9; may succeed in zone 5 with protectionHeight: 2 feet to 16 feet; occasionally over 25 feetSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Potential pests include aphids, borers, deer, Japanese beetles, leafminers, mice, pear slug sawfly, plum curculio, rabbits, scales, spider mites. Birds may be considered a pest if you prefer to keep the fruits for yourself.
