Juneberries!

funny thing is the birds around here don’t seem to care for them. once i identified the wild one growing, i kept a eye on it as it came close to ripening. they don’t care for it. i have wild chokecherry, mountain ash and high bush cranberry all around me. maybe they prefer them instead. wish i could cut back the spruces its growing out of to give it more light but they are my privacy screen with my neighbor.

Does anyone happen to have any seeds that you’d like to trade for? If not, I’ll probably order from Trade Winds Fruit, but wanted to check here first. Thanks.

Rob, I know where some are growing. I could fix you up this summer. You would need to remind me.

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Greatly appreciated, Graftman. I’ll try to remember to remind myself to remind you later this summer :slight_smile:

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@RobThomas
I got seed from here
https://sheffields.com/seeds-for-sale/Amelanchier/alnifolia///Smokey////699546//Saskatoon-Serviceberry,-Saskatoon-Berry

Several years ago… Erratic germination throughout the summer, and some the second year.
Did end up with quite a few plants.
They Also have other A. Sp.

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Sometimes I see ‘Juneberries’ / ‘Sarvis’ growing in flower beds…where the birds scattered the seeds. They grow quite slow, so I would expect apples from a seedling rootstock before I’d expect Juneberries from a seedling.

i just planted a tray if jb30 seed a few days ago, still have some in fridge also. how much u looking for? here’s pics of my Martin seedlings also taken yesterday, they are transplanted into 2x2 deep trays now…


If anyone cares, potting mix Im using 1 gallon of vermiculite, 2 gallons of perlite and 3 gallons of baled pro mix, broken up and moderately packed into icecream pail. Throw it all in a large garbage bag and shake it around to mix it up. amendments I add is 1 cup of diatomaceous earth and 1/3 cup of osmocote+. Sometimes Ill add about 1/2 cup of powdered leonardite also. Seems to work pretty good for starting stuff indoors.

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Derek, thanks for the offer, but I went ahead and order seed from Trade Winds. I was placing an order anyway, and 20 seeds were only $2.50, so it was a no-brainer to go ahead and include them in my order.

Let me know how yours do. Did you need to scarify the seed?

I never dry mine out at all. I blend up berries on low speed and pour off the pulp, put the seeds in a ziplock in my fridge in water, rinse them once a month or so until they start to sprout. Then I plant them in flats and let them grow.

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I had almost 100% germination from seed I collected. All I did was leave it in some damp potting soil in the fridge until they started to germinate.

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How do those suckers handle southern regions? Think it would fruit well in 8a(NE Texas)?

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Don’t know ?
I think of them as more of a northern thing.?
Maybe someone from the south will tell us.
In the mean time … Here is as link to range maps…
http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Amelanchier

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I see them planted by landscapers all over central NJ as a small ornamental native tree. I have never seen one not absolutely mauled by Cedar Apple Rust. 100% infection rates on the berries.

If anybody ever finds or breeds a resistant variety I’ll buy several. Very pretty trees aside from the fungus…

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I don’t think they are native to TN. I have found some planted by landscapers. They had what I think is Quince Blight. The leaves looked good but the fruit was narley on the blossom end.

I’m in 7b, which is hot and humid in the summer. Humid doesn’t mean wet, though, as our winters are wet but we can go weeks at a time during the summer without rain. We have several days a year where the temperature is at or above 100. My seedlings are from a couple of trees that were definitely planted, but have been there for years and I’ve noticed no problems.

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not growing fast as id like, but making progress.

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You know, some years ago I bought one in Rock Hill, SC and planted it in the region…it think it was a “Cumulus”, a named cultivar. And it gets cedar apple rust perhaps worse than the others…that one never has any good edible fruits.

However, amelanchier x grandiflora (apple serviceberry), seldom has CAR to any major extent here in my area of Kentucky…despite plenty of cedar trees (juniperus virginiana).

Princess Diana is the prettiest for landscaping, and Autumn Brilliance is by-far the most common in garden centers/landscaping…at least in Ohio/Kentucky/Tennessee/North Carolina.

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Same here…I am in 7a, no issues. In fact, I had a 12 inch seedling last march that actaully that grew another 12 inches and put out 7 berries in July! I bought it from Plants for the Edible Landscape: Saskatoon Blueberry

I have one large, healthy Saskatoon right now. This year, I want to start doing a lot more propagation of edible garden options so I have stuff to give people who want to shift over to it.
I do not have indoor growing space and am in zone 5b.
There is also a fairly high chance that tree will get wrecked this year due to upcoming road work.
Does softwood cutting propagation work with them?
I could clip and plant a ton in the spring, hopefully before it gets done in. The birds love the fruit (and the few we get are so tasty) and haven’t been able to store any seeds.
Anybody know if there is much of a survival chance on trying to salvage part of root ball?

Hardened-off summer cuttings should have reasonable chance of rooting.
I don’t know if propagation from a piece of root works or not.
But, if you could move the whole rootball this winter, it would likely work fine…saving your tree.

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