MUST HAVE plants
These elegant trees offer spring blossom, edible berries and autumn leaf colour, says Sue Fisher
Ask any professional gardener or designer for small-garden tree recommendations and amelanchier is likely to be a top choice. Deservedly so, as this hard-working deciduous small tree or bushy shrub looks gorgeous for much of the year.
First there’s a glorious abundance of white blossom in early to mid-spring, borne along with warm coppery-coloured rounded young leaves, then followed by edible fruits. Leaves mature to mid-green, still attractive but taking a back seat, then leap back into the limelight with fiery autumn tints in brilliant reds and oranges.
Nearly all amelanchiers originate from North America, where a total of 18 species grow in a range of locations from mountains and hills to wetland and woodland edges. The origins of Amelanchier lamarckii are uncertain, though it has naturalised widely across Europe. The most widely used common name in the UK is snowy mespilus, while in the North American continent it is known variously as Juneberry, serviceberry, Saskatoon berry, shadblow and shadbush.
A key consideration these days when choosing long-lived plants should be the impacts of climate change, and because of its origins, this hardy plant copes better than most with the extremes of wet and dry that are now being thrown at gardeners.
Amelanchier fits almost all gardens because it’s something of a shapeshifter, available to buy either as a small standard tree with a clear stem or as a bushy multi-stemmed shrub. The latter makes a popular centrepiece plant for urban gardens, courtyards and borders, and is available to buy in a range of sizes, from standard 3L pots up to mature specimens. Tree width varies according to variety, with the narrowest, fastigiate ones just a couple of metres wide – perfect for front gardens and streets.
Amelanchier’s style fits equally well into formal or relaxed settings, with blooms that are daintier and altogether more informal than that other spring favourite, the Japanese cherry. The gently weaving and airy branch structure doesn’t cast a dense shade, so there’s plenty of potential for attractive under-planting to help maximise interest from a small space.
Fruits ripen to red in summer – hence th
