Amelanchier Serviceberry Trees

• Variety: Snowy Mespilus or Serviceberry, a small tree for every season
• Latin name: Amelanchier canadensis, the name this tree is sold under
• Sold as: Bareroot standards, 6/8 and 8/10cm girth
• Height: About 6 to 8m
• Flowers: White, in spring, as the leaves open
• Fruit: Edible berries in summer, ripening from red to purple-black
• Autumn colour: Orange and red, best in full sun
• Position: Full sun or partial shade. Exposed or sheltered
• Soil: Moist, well-drained and lime-free: acid to neutral
• Hardiness: H7, hardy in the severest British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Snowy Mespilus earns its space in a small garden three times a year: white blossom in spring as the leaves open, edible berries in summer, and orange and red leaves in autumn. It is rated H7 and wants a moist, lime-free soil, so it is not a tree for chalk.

Amelanchier Serviceberry Trees

Amelanchier canadensis is a bushy little tree or large shrub that provides interest all year round, with masses of white flowers in spring followed by red, edible fruit in summer (get them before the birds do) and brilliant orange-red autumn foliage. It can also be grown as a large shrub with an upright canopy that will fit into most small gardens. It can reach a height of about 6-8 metres.

We also grow Amelanchier Robin Hill, and sapling Amelanchier lamarckii.
Browse all of our ornamental & garden trees, or our other trees for small gardens.

Growing Amelanchier canadensis

An undemanding tree that prefers decent drainage and a neutral to mildly acidic soil pH. It'll grow in damp, but not waterlogged, locations beside water with good sun.
The spreading, shallow fibrous roots are great for holding loose soil in place on a mound or bank, or thin topsoils on rocky locations. It's hardy and wind resistant, but not suitable for the coast or polluted urban sites. It benefits from a mulch in late spring / early summer, especially in dry locations.

It has a suckering habit that will tend to turn it into a large shrub over time if they're not removed.

History & Trivia

From North America, it has a range of common names, including serviceberry, juneberry, snowy mespilus, chuckle-berry, currant-tree, shad-blow, shadbush, grape pear, and sugarplum. The sweetness of the fruit is variable from tree to tree and year to year: if it is bitter, cook it and it will taste great.

The wood is hard and durable, so it was commonly used to make handles for weapons and tools.

Standard trees are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level: their trunk's waist measurement. Unlike sapling trees and hedge plants, standards aren't measured by their height, which will vary quite a bit both between and within species.
So, a 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8cm and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10cm around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
On average, standard trees are 2-3.5 metres tall when they arrive, but we cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

Planting Companions

Of the named forms, Ballerina is the bushier one with larger white flowers, and the Robin Hill linked above opens from pink buds. Hawthorns and Crab Apples are cousins of much the same size, and they take the chalk that an Amelanchier will not. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Garden Trees?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Snowy Mespilus comes as a bareroot tree, lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. Plant it between November and April, and it will establish readily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Snowy Mespilus, Juneberry, Serviceberry, Amelanchier: are they the same tree?

Yes. They are all common names for Amelanchier, and the same tree can carry any of them.

Is this Amelanchier canadensis or Amelanchier lamarckii?

It is sold as canadensis. Most of the trees sold in Britain under that name are really lamarckii, and have been for decades. In the garden they do the same job.

Will it grow on chalk?

No. It wants a moist, well-drained soil without lime: acid to neutral.

Can you eat the berries?

Yes, the berries are edible, though the birds tend to get there first.

Does it need pruning?

Very little. Take out suckers at the base if you want to keep it as a single-stemmed tree.

Do you sell smaller plants for hedging?

Yes. The Juneberry hedging plants linked above are young saplings of the same kind of tree.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the trees are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your tree is lifted and sent once the season opens.