Habitat

• native to northeastern United States down through Florida and across to Iowa
• hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• a deciduous, small tree or large shrub
• 15' to 25' tall
• multi-stemmed
• rounded crown
• medium texture
• medium growth rate

Summer Foliage

• deciduous simple leaves
• alternate leaf arrangement
• elliptic leaf shape
• 1" to 3" long
• serrated leaf margin
• medium green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• yellow-orange to red fall color
• colors early and leaves fall early

Flowers

• white flowers
• flowers borne in pendulous racemes
• 2" to 4" long
• blooms early spring
• showy but short-lived

Fruit

• red fruit
• pome fruit
• 0.25" to 0.33" in diameter
• ripens in June
• favorite of birds

Bark

• smooth, grayish bark
• "striped" with vertical fissures
• very ornamental
• olive-green young stems

Culture

• transplant from container
• prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soil
• full sun to partial shade
• tolerant of pollution
• thrives in wet site

Landscape Uses

• for bark effect
• specimen planting
• small grouping
• flower effect
• naturalized areas
• wet sites
• background or screen

Liabilities

• rusts, scales, aphids and mildews

ID Features

• cordate leaf base
• long, pointed terminal buds, 0.5' long
• reddish buds are imbricate with silky hairs
• white flowers held in long racemes
• red, edible fruit
• alternate leaf arrangement

Propagation

• by seed
• by cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

No selections of this species are commonly offered, but see listings under the other Amelanchier species.