Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: running serviceberry
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Rosaceae
Native Range: Northeastern America
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 4.00 to 5.00 feet
Spread: 4.00 to 5.00 feet
Bloom Time: May
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Hedge, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Good Fall
Attracts: Birds
Fruit: Showy, Edible
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of a somewhat wide range of soils.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Amelanchier stolonifera, commonly called running serviceberry, is a deciduous, early-flowering, stoloniferous shrub which typically suckers and spreads to form thickets. It usually grows to only 3-5' tall and features 5-petaled, showy, white flowers in drooping clusters which appear before the leaves emerge in early spring. Finely toothed, oval to almost circular, medium to dark green leaves (1-3" long) lack teeth on lower edges and change to variable shades of yellow, orange and red in autumn. Flowers give way to small, round, green berries which mature to a dark purplish-black in summer. Edible berries resemble blueberries in size and color and are often used in pies. Amelanchiers are also commonly called Juneberries.
Genus name comes from a French provincial name for Amelanchier ovalis a European plant in this genus.
Specific epithet means having stolons for rooting runners.
Problems
Rust, leaf spot, fire blight and powdery mildew are occasional disease problems and sawfly, leaf miner, borers, and scale are occasional insect pests.
Uses
Best in shrub borders, or in woodland, naturalized or native plant gardens. Also effective along stream banks and ponds. The plant's small size lends itself well to growing in rock gardens.