North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

> Bill,
>     I think you'd do well with serviceberries.  Your climate is drier and you 
> probably have far fewer cedars than we do.
> In most of the Great Plains, the red cedar (J. virginiana) is the only native 
> juniper.  It is planted throughout Nebraska and in states to the north and 
> south, as seedlings in farm shelterbelts and windbreaks and as cultivars in 
> home landscapes.


Not just planted, either. It grows like a weed around here. Any pasture 
or prairie left unburned (or unmowed) is soon covered in red cedar. I 
live in town, but I know they're all around me here, too. I'm always 
finding little red cedar seedlings in my lawn.

But yes, I'm thinking seriously of trying serviceberries. Due to a 
slight miscalculation, I've got a place that's probably not quite big 
enough for dwarf trees, but might handle two or three bushes just fine. 
I'll just have to make sure I get the smaller species.

Thanks,

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

--
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty 
without any proof. - Ashley Montague