You wrote, "I'm considering a serviceberry tree for the corner of my foundation bed . . . we're trying to bring some height to the bed as this is a very boxy, tall, 2 story house, but I don't really want to go more than 15' in height at maturity . . . . I want something with an upright shape." You received good advice from people who are very knowledgeable. You rejected all their advice. I may be mistaken, but you seem to have your mind made up - you are going to plant a serviceberry - regardless. I have several serviceberries, including Autumn Brilliance. They are lovely little trees, very delicate in form. I would not use a serviceberry as part of a foundation planting for this style and size of house. You need something more substantial. There are many trees from which to choose. If you do have an open mind, why don't you visit a botanical garden or public garden (with a camera and notebook) so you can see what different trees look like when they are mature? What works in different situations? I do this whenever I can - it's a great learning experience. You'll see trees that you knew nothing about, and that would be perfect for this particular place on your property. Pam

Thanks for the advice Angel and Landescaped! Sorry for the delay in response. There seems to be a glitch with my membership. I have yet to receive an alert when I receive a response to my question. Any how that's another story. I didn't see either of your posts before we bought the tree. We went with the Laevis. It was just so beautifully branched and well formed that we couldn't help ourselves! So far it hasn't disappointed.. the bark is the most beautiful color. When in low light it turns almost a lavender silver, and in the rain it goes bright brick red or pink. Landescaped the Cumulus sounds wonderful. Thanks for all the factual info! Angel I am interested in the fruit.. for myself and the birds. We had to chop down an old failing euyonomus that was in decline which the birds loved and wanted to replace it with some wildlife value. Because of our limited sun its difficult to grow a lot of edibles so anything that produces fruit in our situation is a big big plus. The Laevis was an older tree so the height was too tempting. Our next door neighbor has a jungle gym that is taller than the fence and a very talkative kid so we needed to block that asap! I digress. Thanks again!!!!

I've been reading this one topic a lot and visiting the different nurseries online. I love edible landscaping, especially fruits and berries. I have Washington Hawthorns, Elderberries (Adams/Johns), 3 grapevines, 4 dwarf cherry trees, a mulberry tree (Morus alba), strawberries, blackberries, amber raspberries, coralberries, and blueberries mixed in with perennial flowers in my urban yard. When I stop reading the topics long enough to figure out how to post pictures, I will post some berry pics as I have two different berries that I didn't plant and need an ID. I've been looking high and low on the internet, but can't figure out what they are on my own. Both of the unknown berries were in my yard before I started planting stuff, so I know it isn't stuff I've purchased or piggybacked in with stuff I purchased. I also don't see them elsewhere in my neighborhood and the hubby worries they might be poisonous - I'm tempted to taste them every year. I planted the hawthorns for the songbirds to eat. I think I have about 25 planted and thriving since last spring. I'm hoping the birds will eat those and the coralberries more and leave me with enough of the other fruits that I end up with stomach aches from eating too much. Next year, along with doubling the amount of grape vines, I'll probably plant 5 more blackberries (3 different varieties tbd this winter.) I will also plant at least 2 varieties of red raspberries. If you haven't noticed, I like plants with thorns. I used the Hawthorns to create a hedge on the north and south sides of my front yard. But I will move them all to the north side and put a blackberry hedge on the south side. I have to do this to keep the mailman, neighbors and felines out of my yard - I have to protect my flowers also. I want my yard to be a sanctuary for the birds, but cats keep visiting and stalking the poor birds because I have several neighbors that let their cats roam the neighborhood as they please. After my thorny plants started growing, my yard hasn't been the neighborhood litter box it once was. (I just hope I don't accidently sit on my thorny babies like I did many years ago on a rose bush because I literally could not sit for weeks!) I also haven't had to worry about my indoor-only cat being worked into a frenzy from the cats taunting her at the windows. Anyhow, I realize now that there are many many serviceberries but I can't find good photos of them. I've found a lot of information, some drawings, and a few photos that looked like wilted flowers. I also haven't seen any mention of thorns - do any serviceberry plants have thorns? Where can I find clear photos of a few different types alongside good descriptions? (I'm planting thornless fruit away from the property borders.) I still need plants for my edible hedge along the front/west side of my front yard - hopefully thorny and growing at least 4' -6' high. Otherwise, I'll continue to use the Washington Hawthorns for a hedge but add 2 Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite') bushes for the butterflies on each side of the front gate. After all that, I still have a couple spots left for either serviceberry, or maybe currants. A few photos of the serviceberry growing in your gardens would help me choose.

Both are great trees. I'm assuming you are talking about the native American fringe tree, chionanthus virginicus. I wouldn't be scared away from fringetree unless you live in an area with active EAB infestation. Whether fringetrees can support the life cycle of EAB is still uncertain. It was found on trees in a limited area with a great many infected dead ash trees nearby. It is also possible to protect against infestation. Autumn Brilliance is regarded as very disease and insect resistant, but all serviceberries are in the rose family, apple/pear subdivision, and are subject to pests and diseases common to apples. If you live in an area with lots of old neglected apple trees, this might be a concern. As NHBabs noted, some shrubs and trees noted for their autumn color routinely get zapped by frost too early, so I wouldn't make fall color your number 1 priority. Seviceberry is marginally hardier, earlier to bloom and produces edible fruit. Fringetree is fragrant and showier/longer lasting/later in bloom. You can't go wrong with either. Despite some claims to the contrary, all plants have specific environmental and nutritional needs. Labeling anything you can't pop into the ground and walk away from as if it were a Norway maple as "foo foo" is inaccurate and would deprive gardeners of many, many wonderful plants.