WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST?
Well, I never seem to have luck with my planted serviceberries. Serviceberries–also known as Juneberry, shadblow, bilberry, or shadbush–seem to grow well in the Catskills, but just as they really begin to fruit, they “fall apart.” Before fully ripening, they often get a rust that coats the entire fruit. This is unfortunate, since fully ripened fruit tastes as good as blueberries, but with a slight vanilla taste. The few times I have been lucky enough to eat healthy serviceberries, twice was in the City of Kingston where the shrubby tree was surrounded by roads and parking lots. Perhaps the heat of the pavement dries them out faster, making them less susceptible to parasitic fungi? I do know that serviceberry or saskatoon does best in central Canada where they are grown commercially; The climate there is much drier. In any case, I found this serviceberry while walking to a restaurant in Kingston.
May the Forest Be with You,
Ryan Trapani
Director of Forest Services
Catskill Forest Association