North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Louis Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>]

I've had a number of of the varieties selected in the Dakotas & Canada in
the ground here in southern west-central KY zone 6 for nearly 15 years -
Smokey, Regent, Theissen, Forestburg, Honeywood, Success, Martin(?), maybe
another couple I've forgotten - all as tissue-cultured selections from St.
Lawrence Nurseries in NY, Jennybelle (A.obovata) from Edible Landscaping in
VA.
All these have been pretty disappointing - little to no fruit production,
heavily defoliated by a leaf-spot disorder most years.
I've never noticed evidence of cedar(juniper)-serviceberry rust - but
they've performed so poorly that I don't bother looking very hard at them,
either.

Two tiny little (2-3" tall) row-run Timm & Success seedlings, purchased from
the now-defunct Bear Creek Nursery prior to 1998, have grown well, and
retain healthy foliage.  They also (I think) fruit well - but the birds get
the vast majority of it; they're located in a site that I can see well
enough from the house, but there's not much else to entice me to walk over
there, and I usually forget about 'em until it's too late.

Also have access to 4 large surviving row-run A.x grandiflora seedlings,
also from BCN, that my kids and I planted 10 yrs ago at the elementary
school they attended.  They've grown well, once they finally got big enough
to fend off the attacks of the school system groundskeepers, they are now
multistemmed clumps in excess of 10' in height, and they bear tasty clumps
of berries with good flavor - good enough that my wife wants me to clone
them or try growing some seedlings to plant here.  Gotta get on that one of
these days, before I drive by and see that they're just...gone.

Rob - seems like I recall Dirr describing one or two seedling selections
he'd made at UGA in his Manual of Woody Landscape plants - seedlings of
'Autumn Brilliance', maybe?  I don't recall his discussion of their fruiting
characteristics, but I'd bet he did touch on it.

Lucky Pittman
Hopkinsville, KY