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| Most people appear to grow serviceberry as a bush. I am considering getting one in tree form at a half-off autumn sale.
Does anyone know if birds are as accepting of the trees as they are of bushes? Also, if you have a service berry, what kinds of birds are attracted to it? Thank you for your help. Carmellia |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by chris52403 5 (My Page) on Thu, Sep 18, 08 at 15:40
| Carmellia: I don't have any Serviceberries of my own, yet! But, my aunt has 2 of the tree form and she can't keep the berries on it for all of the birds! The birds come in flocks she said to devour the berries. I know she gets Robins, other than that, not sure what other kinds come to it. Goodluck. I am looking at adding a couple Regents Serviceberries to my backyard, hoping the birds will come! Chris52403 |
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- Posted by joepyeweed 5b IL (My Page) on Thu, Sep 18, 08 at 17:41
| I rarely get to see the berries on my service berry tree because the birds seem to strip them off as fast as they grow. If you can actually get a few berries for yourself, they are edible for people too. As for type of birds, in my yard its mainly goldfinches, house finches and cardinals. But I imagine any bird will eat them. |
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- Posted by catherinet z5 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 19, 08 at 21:00
| I've had robins, catbirds and cedar waxwings eat the berries from my serviceberry trees. |
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| Gotta warn ya! The trees sucker like crazy! We planted 3 of them 10 years ago. The suckers are coming up not just at the base, but up to 4' from the trees. We weed-whack them down but the little stubs are uncomfortable to walk on. I don't recommend planting them unless you have a good size yard with an area you are naturalizing. They go their own way! |
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| I have two bush forms and two tree forms, one a single stem and one a clump. Once the birds find this seasonal source of goodies, they will return every year. Primary feeders are robins and cedar waxwings, but other fruit lovers show up too, even squirrels. Mine are 10 years old as of Aug.'08. None have ever suckered. This year I actually picked a single bowl of the luscious blue berries, which (ta-dah!) tastes like a blueberry, but jucier. I recommend these for small lots and patio trees. This year the fall foliage was totally spectacular. This tree has it all. i.e. managable size, will grow in some shade, has the earliest white blossoms, luscious fruit and great fall color. All wildlife gardeners should have at least 3 of these. |
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| Pondy, can you tell me what cultivars you have so that I can choose one that is tree form and doesn't sucker? Thanks! |
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- Posted by joepyeweed 5b IL (My Page) on Tue, Dec 23, 08 at 11:16
| The suckering is why many people grow them in shrub form. I have a tree, planted it a few years ago and it hasn't suckered yet. |
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| The "suckering" might also have something to do with how deep you plant the tree/shrub or it whether its root zone was damaged at some point. I have 2 serviceberry shrubs and one that was grown in a lollipop tree form. The lollipop sent out so many suckers that I'm letting them take over and may eventually prune out the original "tree"! Personally, I like the suckers. All the more branches to make berries! But here's a link to a site that tells you why they occur and how to remove them (if you wish):
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Here is a link that might be useful: Tree suckers
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- Posted by newyorkrita z6b/7a LI NY (My Page) on Sun, Mar 29, 09 at 19:38
| The birds don't care if you get a tree form or a shrub form. They just love serviceberries. In my yard the birds start checking out the berries as soon as they show a flush of red. When my serviceberries were young and did not yet produce lots of fruit, it was years until they made enough that I would see purple ripe berries as those birds got them too quickly. Now they fruit so heavily that they are loaded with purple berries in the summer until the birds finially finish them all off. Best summer bird attractor there is. |
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