Found some 5-6 foot service berries for $30 at a local nursery. They have Autumn Brilliance, Regent, and two others I forget the name. Can anyone break down the taste and if these are worth buying. I lean more to sweat than sour and the internet has little information on them.
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I have autumn brilliance and regent. Regent is a small bush and AB a twelve foot shrub. My kids love both but autumn brilliance is superior imo. I’m eating some early blackberry, raspberry along with serviceberry now and AB is my favorite to eat. Very saddened to see both serviceberry have just been infected with cedar Apple rust this year
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my wild one in my spruces is just flowering. berries are very good slightly ripe. fully ripe they are too sweet for my taste. these are the size of a med. blueberry. im rooting a cutting of it to put in the yard as it gets no diseases here. i also have a apple serviceberry and a saskatoon serviceberry i got as free trees thru arbor day but they are just tiny things right now.
Are they self pollinating? What does the taste resemble most?
its like a blueberry / apple with a hint of almond. no tartness like most blueberries. kids will definitely like them. mine is the only one in the area i know of so id guess its self pollinating.
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One thing to look at with service berries is uniformity of ripening. Whatever variety my city planted, probably autumn brilliance as that’s a popular one, doesn’t ripen all at once here and it’s kind of a pain. Once the trees get really big that’s something that matters more.
And I agree with moose on the flavor. It’s more mild and sweet but has blueberry apple and almond flavors.
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mines like that too. a handful ripens every week for about a month. its great for grazing.
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Yep, if you’re just wanting to graze don’t worry about it. I like to pick a bunch at once, made a pie last year that was so-so. I think it would need another fruit in it to make it really good- Something with some sour flavors to it. I’ve had saskatoon jam before that was nothing special. I’m still looking for the best way to use these! Maybe they are just good for snacking right off the tree.
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id love to try a juneberry/ b. currant pie! the currants strong flavor with the sweetness of the juneberry should compliment each other.
I was just looking to get one or two to graze on which makes the extended harvest a good thing. Blueberries have not really done well here, so maybe these can take up some of their weak production. Also, read somewhere that deer do not much care for them, but I question that.
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All but the a. alnifolia seem to do well in Kentucky. The only real downsides I know are cedar apple rust, and squirrels will sometimes eat the blossoms.
AND…the birds will beat you to them pretty often before they are fully ripe.
Recently l saw a recommendation on another plant discussion board for Reeseville Ridge Nusery… they offer seedlings of several different Amelanchier species at very reasonable prices
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I find Regent to have large and very juicy fruit but it is not terribly tasty to my palette. Autumn Brilliance is far better eating quality.
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What is it that you found bad about regent? Trying to decide on which ones to buy. AB is already on the list to buy. Just wondering if I should get one of each or two AB’s.
northline is the most grown commercial serviceberry in canada. grows quicker, fruits ripen at the same time and has good sized berries. i believe honey berry USA sells them. think i also read that on their website quoted from a canadian source.
These that I’m talking about are big ones at a local nursery. That’s why I’m stuck on them.
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Not saying Regent is bad. The fruit is large and lots of juice. Just saying compared to Autumn brilliance it definitely does not taste as sweet. Maybe in jam or pie regent would be fine. Where I work we grow numerous types of serviceberries. I am spoiled as I can walk the rows in the field and pick all I want. Sometimes I eat too many. I also can eat off the container grown plants too.
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Thanks. I went with two of the AB’s and will hope they are self pollinating. Everybody agrees AB is the best.
Apomixis is very common in Amelanchier…seedlings are often, for all intents, clones of the mother plant…so, I’m doubtful that cross-pollenation by a different variety is a necessity.
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