Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Juneberry

Description:

A choice and extremely hardy shrub with beautiful white flowers in early spring, tasty berries in June, and good fall color; extremely versatile and low-maintenance landscape shrub that really deserves to be used more in home landscapes

Ornamental Features

Saskatoon is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It features an abundance of magnificent blue berries from late spring to early summer. It is smothered in stunning clusters of white flowers rising above the foliage from early to mid spring before the leaves. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The oval leaves turn an outstanding yellow in the fall.

This plant is primarily grown as an ornamental, but it's also valued for its edible qualities. The sweet berries are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Cooking
• Preserves

Landscape Attributes

Saskatoon is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Saskatoon is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Saskatoon will grow to be about 12 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 25 years. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn't require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America.