Downy Serviceberry Amelanchier arborea
Other Common Name(s):
Other plants called Downy Serviceberry:
Previously known as:
- Amelanchier alabamensis
- Amelanchier canadensis
- Phonetic Spelling
- am-uh-LAN-kee-er ar-bor-EE-ah
- Description
-
Downy serviceberry, is a deciduous tree in the Rosaceae (rose) family, native to eastern North America, and found throughout North Carolina. It typically grows on wooded slopes and cliffs, open woods, wooded bluffs, rocky woodlands, limestone glades, riverbanks, and edges of swamps. It is not frost tender.
Downy serviceberry grows in a wide range of cultural conditions: in full sun to partial shade and acidic to neutral, sandy, loam, or clay soil that is moist and well drained, but occasionally wet or dry. It has a multistemmed habit as a small tree or, if the root suckers are not removed, it will attain a more shrubby like form. Typically growing 15 to 25 feet tall with a narrow, rounded form, it can reach heights of 40 feet in the wild. The trunk can range from 6 to 18 inches.
In the spring, fragrant five-petaled, white flowers mature, followed by finely toothed leaves with a hairy underside. The bark is smooth when young. As the tree ages, long, vertical splits and furrows develop. The small tree produces a red to purple berry that matures in the late summer to fall. The berries have some resemblance to blueberries. It attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, as well as songbirds and small mammals.
Because of its cultural versatility, downy serviceberry also fills a wide variety of garden uses in any location, from specimen to border, barrier, mass planting, or understory tree. It is sometimes planted as an ornamental for the showy clusters of flowers and is commonly sold in the nursery trade as Amelanchier canadensis, although canadensis is, in fact, a shrubby East Coast species.
Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: Insects include leaf miner, pear sawfly, spider mites, aphids, peach borer, and scale insects. Diseases affecting the plant are cedar apple rust, glomerella leaf spot-fruit rot, fire blight, powdery mildew, witches' broom, and leaf blight. This plant is slow to root after transplant. Its suckering habit may also lead to the plant being somewhat weedy.
VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs, and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Cole'
- 'Robin Hill'
Tolerates partial paving, good street tree.
- 'Cole'
- 'Cole', 'Robin Hill'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Cole'
- 'Robin Hill'
Tolerates partial paving, good street tree.
- 'Cole'
- 'Cole', 'Robin Hill'
- Tags:
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-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Amelanchier
- Species:
- arborea
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Heavy, hard, close-grained wood used for tool handles.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Root Cutting
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern North America
- Distribution:
- New Brunswick to Florida and west to Minnesota and Texas.
- Fire Risk Rating:
- medium flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant supports Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) and Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) larvae. Viceroy rarely uses this host plant in North Carolina but it has two to three broods from May-September. Pollinators and insects nectar at the blooms and gather pollen in early spring. Fruits are eaten by songbirds, small and large mammals.
- Play Value:
- Attracts Pollinators
- Edible fruit
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Resistant to fire in the landscape. This tree is mildly resistant to damage by deer.
- Edibility:
- Edible fruit used to make jams, jellies, and pies. Can be eaten raw or cooked. Rich in iron and copper.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 15 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
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-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Shrub
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Dense
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12-24 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Green
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Pome
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Small, fleshy green apple-like fruits will turn red then purple-black as they mature. Fruits display from May to August and this plant is self-fruitful, so it does not need a pollenizer to create fruit. They have a similar taste as highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) but slightly sweeter.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Star
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- > 6 inches
- Flower Description:
- Drooping racemes of six to fourteen star-shaped, white to pale pink flowers bloom from March to May. Terminal buds are long and pointed, blossoming into 3 to 7 inch drooping clusters of 1 inch flowers before, or with, the leaves. Flower blooms from March to April.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Orange
- Red/Burgundy
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Obovate
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Pointed, 2 to 4 inch, slender-stalked leaves are purplish-brown until mature when they become light green. Young leaves are covered with hairs on the underside, an almost pussy willow effect. As the tree matures, the leaves are less hairy. At maturity, the green leaves may be covered with hairs.
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-
Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Gray
- Light Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Fissured
- Smooth
- Bark Description:
- Its bark is smooth when young and on branches, but more fissured as it ages and on the trunk. As the tree ages, long, vertical splits and furrows develop.
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-
Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gray/Silver
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Lawn
- Meadow
- Naturalized Area
- Patio
- Pond
- Recreational Play Area
- Slope/Bank
- Small Space
- Walkways
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Edible Garden
- Garden for the Blind
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Rain Garden
- Rock Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Barrier
- Border
- Flowering Tree
- Mass Planting
- Shade Tree
- Small groups
- Small Tree
- Understory Tree
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Erosion
- Fire
- Wet Soil
- Problems:
- Weedy
