Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia)
Saskatoon
(Amelanchier alnifolia)
Attractive all year round, the saskatoon is a lovely and increasingly popular plant to grow.
A close relative and shrubbier version of the juneberry, the saskatoon
is rather variable in height, it can eventually get to be about 3 m tall though we have mature plants that have only reached about 1.5 m.
We find them hardy, self-fertile and easy to grow in any soil, even chalk, dry or damp but fruiting better in full sun. It would be an excellent choice for your fruiting hedge or a stand alone specimen.
The berries are ready in late June-July, dark purple and 10-15 mm in size. They are sweet and some say with an apple like flavour, but the birds do love them too I’m afraid. They are popular in Canada with a long tradition of use, raw, cooked and preserved in any way you can an apple.
In the spring it is a mass of white blossom and the young leaves are a copper colour as they first emerge.