Mine are just getting ready to bloom. I figure on 10-14 days of flower, but enjoy the red fruit (pome) as long as it lasts - the robins remove it pretty quickly. Also, the orange to red fall color is a knockout! A great all around ornamental plant.
hortster

hortster 6B S.central KS
If possible, could you share some pictures of your trees? How old are they?

They were planted fall of 2010 as 6-8' multi-stem plants. This is a picture of one of them was taken the following spring. Will post another closeup of the fruit...
hortster

The fruit (before the robin onslaught!)
hortster

In cool weather, my blooms last 2 weeks, if hot (80s) they may last as little as 5 days. Fruit makes an awesome pie and fall color is quite good. No spring pix, just fall...

Nice backdrop for conifers.

{{gwi:341850}}

tj

tsugajunkie z5 SE W
That is beautiful. Thank you so much. Do you have a good picture of the tree in bloom?

No spring pix, just fall...

tj

amelanchier are very underrated, IMHO.

Mine is in bloom now and it's ethereal. Nicest bloom I ever had on it. I was always sort of underwhelmed with it before, but when they come into their glory you can understand why people like them. Mine doesn't seem to last two weeks in bloom, but of course it's very weather dependent. If it's not storming tomorrow, I can go see if I can get a pic on it. It's hard to capture trees with white bloom on them to do them justice unless you zoom in on the blooms, but I'll give it a try.

Much-planted here, usually as named cultivars. 'Autumn Brilliance' is probably the most prevalent at this time.

hortster, the fruit looks mouth-watering. A slim, wild 35' serviceberry just down the road is on the verge, but hasn't bloomed just yet.

I just ordered a couple of "Sweet Blue" Saskatoons (A. alnifolia) from OIKOS. Hoping they will do OK here in the summer heat as they are cold-climate Canadian natives.

***
Edit: The nearby serviceberry IS blooming now. The lowest branches/flowers are 20' up tho, so fruit is inaccessible.

This post was edited by beng on Sun, Apr 21, 13 at 10:43

Just as a note, the one pictured earlier is 'Autumn Brilliance' as bboy mentioned. tsugajunkie's fall picture shows its pretty dependable fall color.
hortster

The serviceberry in bloom near the grotto..........not the perfect situation for it, but it just minds its own business and does its thing. Overcast this morning and not the best shot.

Birds take the fruit here well before any person ever gets any of it. Likewise blueberry bushes and cherry trees, if they aren't netted then forget it - you have made a wildlife planting.

Birds take the fruit here well before any person ever gets any of it.

On the east side of the Cascades, the Amelanchier alnifolia berries (Saskatoon) during the Depression kept many people from having health problems and having to visit the doctor. You had a tiny window of around a week to be on top of it before the birds won, and folks would spread out across the landscape to beat the birds. It was a symbol of folk working together during tough times. Now it is mostly used as dye.

[/geeky ethnobotany]

calliope 6 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 20, 13 at 17:40
Can you post a close-up picture?

I'm sorry, it is too late now.....the blooms are just tiny shreds and falling.

I finally took a picture. The blooms of this tree only last 3 (three) days. It is in full bloom only one day in an entire year. I took the picture on that one day.

{{gwi:341851}}

Posted by hortster 6B S.central KS (My Page) on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 14:56

I did not realize their fruits become ready so quickly. They are red and they look like cherry. Are they ready to eat now? Do you eat them directly off the tree?

The ones I see here get a dark, purplish red when fully ripe (the very darkest one in horster's pic). By then, the birds have already gotten most. That's the problem.

They're fine right off the stem.

Posted by beng z6 western MD (My Page) on Wed, Jun 12, 13 at 9:24

I did pick the dark purple ones (it is not that hard for our species to pick the ripe fruits). It is reasonably good. Not as good as strawberry, blueberry or cherry, though. I thought it is better than crane berry =)

Now, has anyone history or first hand experience with the medical effects of these trees?

I have been collecting and eating these from street trees. I hope I do not suffer from any kind of pollution or poisoning.