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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Northline Serviceberry (Chex)

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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Northline Serviceberry (Chex)
  • Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 09:41:09 -0500

At 08:44 PM 5/20/2007, Doc L wrote:
> I don't know if you have the same problem I have with Serviceberry but the fruit is attacked every spring by Quince Rust here in SoCar. This is the first year in seven that they haven't been attacked and totally ruined by the rust.
I've seen severe rust infestations on the 'Autumn Brilliance' cultivar - leaves, twigs, fruit - though not in my orchard. I have the strains of the Gymnosporangium fungus that infect apples, quince, and hawthorn - I've seen leaf &/or twig lesions on all three species here - but never have I noticed anything on any of the serviceberries.

The most productive serviceberries I have are a couple of row-run seedlings of Timm & Success that I bought($1 each) from the now-defunct Bear Creek Nursery, back in '96. Granted, they've been in the ground longer than any others, but they're just so very much more vigorous and productive than the other A.alnifolia varieties I've planted(Theissen, Smoky, Martin, Forestburg, etc.). Other than 'Jennybelle', which is an A.obovata selection, all of my alnifolia types are well under 5 ft tall, 10-12 year after planting. They tend to be suckering, spreading plants - the Timm&Success seedling clumps are probably 4 ft across, with high stem density.

There are a couple of nice little A.laevis(Allegheny serviceberry) trees in town at the public library, that fruit heavily every year. I find their fruits to be juicier than those of my alnifolia types.
I see that 'tastes like a blueberry' thing in all the catalogs. I don't agree. I guess they taste like...a serviceberry; they're softer than blueberries, and as Naomi said, if you hit the seeds just right, you get an almond undertone.

Bill MacKentley, at St. Lawrence Nurseries, in Potsdam NY maintains perhaps one of the largest collections of juneberries that I'm aware of, though he doesn't offer all of them every year.
http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/juneberries.html
I see that they're not offering 'Lee #3' this year.
Canadian source? I can only offer DNA Gardens as the place I'd start - http://www.dnagardens.com/catalogue.htm#saskatoon - but for all I know they're Canada's answer to TyTy(but, I hope not).






Well, I must admit this thread is a little disappointing, since I'd been
thinking that Serviceberries (Juneberry, Saskatoon, Shadblow, etc.)
might be interesting to try. Somewhere, I read that they taste rather
like a blueberry (which I love), but that they don't require acid soil.
I was wondering how they'd do in Nebraska, and which varieties might be
recommended for fresh eating (shrubs, by preference, though I might be
able to handle a small tree).

Well, all fruit has problems, I suppose. I don't want to hijack this
thread, but I'd be interested in other comments about Serviceberries in
general.

Bill

--
It's not true that life is one damn thing after another. It's the same
damn thing over and over. - Edna St. Vincent Milay
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Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY





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