I was totally shocked. They took 69 days over 100F in 2009 and didnt even blink. I had many northern plants completely melt but the Serviceberry took it better than some of the natives. I was deeply sceptical that it would produce any fruit. Usually cold tolerance is an indicator of a very high chill requirement. Chill requirement is the number of hours between 45F and 32F each winter. Some plants require over 1000 hours to fruit and San Marcos, TX usually gets 300-500 hours. Well, multiple plants flowered and fruited the first year. They look just like Blueberries but the taste is very different. It is smoother, less tart with a strong Almond after taste as your break apart the tiny soft seeds in the middle. It was wonderful!
The Serviceberry can be grown in shrub form to 30 foot trees. Imagine a 30 foot tall tree covered in Blueberry-ish fruit. The flowers are insane as well. They will go toe-to-toe with Crabapples in the Spring for blossoms.
They can grow in full sun or partial shade. Unlike most fruit, they will still produce fruit in the shade.
How are your serviceberries doing now, 2.5 years later? I purchased a serviceberry plant this year and have kept it in a pot to move it out of our intense summer sun. 101 degrees 2 days ago and its doing fine. Are you still getting flowering and fruitset?
ReplyDeleteFresno, CA
Urban Farmer
gardenwithjeremy.blogspot.com
They still can handle the hot weather with some leaf loss but we no longer get enough chill. We received about 500 hours chill the last time they fruited. We have received about 150 hours chill each year since then. If we are lucky enough to get flowers, the fruit doesnt develop. I suspect it needs a minimum of 500+ hours to produce. I did send a bunch of them to a friend up north.
ReplyDeleteRegent is the variety I have the best success with with heat and production.
I just checked your area and Fresno gets about 800 chill hours. I suspect you will get fruit too. Definitely try Regent.
ReplyDelete