Product Review

~ ~ ~ WE OFFER BOTH PKT. & BULK SIZES ~ ~ ~ Saskatoon Berry - Amelanchier alnifolia Botanical Name: Amelanchier alnifolia Family: Rosaceae Genus: Amelanchier Species: alnifolia Common Name:Saskatoon Serviceberry, Saskatoon Berry Height: 3-20 feet Minimum Hardiness Zone: 6 Characteristics Wildlife Food Flowering Shrub Edible Fruit/Nuts Reclamation * It is a deciduous shrub or small tree that can grow to 1-8 m (3-26 ft) (rarely to 10 m, 33 ft) in height. Its growth form spans from suckering and forming colonies to clumped.The leaves are oval to nearly circular, 2-5 cm (0.79-2.0 in) long and 1-4.5 cm (0.4-1.8 in) broad, on a 0.5-2 cm (0.2-0.8 in) leaf stem , margins toothed mostly above the middle.The flowers are white, about 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 in) across; they appear on racemes of 3-20 together in spring while the new leaves are still expanding.The fruit is a small purple pome 5-15 mm (0.2-0.6 in) in diameter, ripening in early summer. * Forms colonies. *The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. The fruit ripens in mid summer (early July in southern Britain), it is soft and juicy with a few small seeds in the centre. A very nice sweet flavour that is enjoyed by almost everyone who tries it, there is a hint of apple in the taste. About the size of a blackcurrant, the fruit is produced in small clusters and the best wild forms can be 15mm in diameter. The fruit can also be dried and used as raisins or made into pemmican. The fruit is rich in iron and copper. The leaves are a tea substitute. Growing Info: Scarification:Soak in water, let stand in water for 24 hours. Stratification:cold stratify for 90 days or fall sowing. Germination:sow seed 1/8" deep, tamp the soil, mulch the seed bed. Other: fall sowing in mulched beds is prefered to artificial stratification.