'm looking for info on Amelanchier varieties. I’m particularly interested in Amelanchier alnifolia (saskatoons). Is anyone growing these? If so what do they taste like-are they worth growing?
Thanks
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I am interested in these as well, so I hope there will be some responses.
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I’ve got a couple of Saskatoons, but mine are not producing much yet. Birds love them, and will eat them before they are ripe enough for me so I don’t get many.
I think they are very tasty. I lived in a township where they were used for a chunk of municipal plantings and I had a few years where I could forage a good supply each year. (The tactical mistake was being honest with neighbors who asked about them when I was picking. After a year or 2, there would be others going after them)
The flavour is a bit fruit punchy with a hint of almond. They cook well and are a bit more mild and less sweet than most blueberries, as well as being less juicy and can feel a bit mealy fresh in comparison. For example, my mother finds pure, cooked blueberry overly sweet and the flavour a bit cloying. She really enjoys the Saskatoons instead.
I like them in muffins, scones but the fave is crumbles or cobblers.
I’m not sure where you want to grow them. All discussed above was in 5b to 6. I have also seen them grown in 2-3 maritime and while they survived, production was very low and the berries were small and dry.
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I had to chuckle at your comment about the tactical mistake you made. I could imagine you answering differently now that you know that others might want to forge too:
Neighbor: What are you doing.
Viridian: Oh, nothing in particular. Move along, there’s nothing to see here.
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I grow a popular one,Northline and agree with Viridian about the flavor.bb
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Lots of wild serviceberries around here. The birds get them before I can.
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I am growing some wild ones. The heat seems to be a stressor for them here, but I haven’t given them any special care such as mulch or otherwise. My better plants are growing close to a weed patch that gives them some partial shade early in the day…so shade might help in a hotter zone. My wild plants taste very mild (a bit bland?) with a nutty flavor. Not bad though. Birds have not bothered mine at all, but we have plenty of mulberries that time of year, so maybe that helps.
Here is one of my better young plants. The don’t seem to ripen all at the same time.
The look super big on megazoom 
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I think they are my favorite fruit for fresh eating…I have never yet managed to pick enough to want to quit eating. (But, the birds love them even better than blueberries, and I know why, they’re goooooooooood.)
The amelanchier x grandiflora or apple serviceberry hybrid is the one for zone 6, with the Saskatoons for farther north. I have a few wild amalanchier canadensis and/or amelanchier lavies on my wooded property. Seldom get to eat any of the fruit…worse than cherries…birds get 'em.
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Thanks for that, I’m in zone 9 so it shouldn’t be a problem
Looks great, it’s not to hot where I am so they should be ok
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Do you have a favorite of the different varieties?
I have 2 bushes that I bought years ago. I really don’t like them that much.
I leave them for the birds now.
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The few Amelanchier I am trying to grow at my place have been a magnet for rust and have not been happy, is anyone aware of any rust resistant varieties?
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I am growing Saskatoons in 4b UP of MI. I have 10 in a hedge on their 3rd spring. So far have had a few berries and they taste very nice but not at all like a blueberry.
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For looks in the front yard, try “Princess Diana” if you can find her.
Otherwise, seedling apple serviceberries== amalanchier x grandiflora which would be cheaper than the patented cultivars …. if you can find them for sale.
(So many for sale are not this hybrid…but in zone 6 it’s the preferred for fruit.)
I’d have to do a search for current ‘Availability’ as I don’t know right off.
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Autumn Brilliance is also good, and readily available at any good garden center.
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W. Oregon, wet-ish 8B…problems with rust (related to CAR, I believe). Birds get’em and I’m not wild about the flavor. Mine are still young, this year could be different. I haven’t done a great job of keeping them hydrated…we do have warm/dry Summers. Northline and Smokey something.
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I have included a link to the U of S saskatoon berry page, not a lot of information, but some. We have quite a few u-pick Saskatoon berry farms up here so if the conditions are right they can be highly productive.
I am not crazy about them either, I prefer the wild blueberries. Saskatoon/Rhubarb pie is pretty good though.https://gardening.usask.ca/articles-growing-information/saskatoon-berries.php
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They are a bit bland but they are good and they have a pleasing soft texture. I know they can get fireblight and that the ones from CSU should be fireblight resistant. The wild ones many times can be very good.
You can prune them up to be a nice landscaping short tree here in Colorado and they make a excellent tree for areas where the sidewalk divides your lawn as they stay pretty small and there roots are not super invasive.
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I have Amelanchier stolonifera from Oikos. I enjoyed many handfuls of pea sized berries last June. The bush is less than 3 feet tall and slowly suckering.
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