Thanks cearhaill. This is an Alnifolia Serviceberry. Previously I had pruned these new starts but the shrub has never really grew much. Recently I had someone tell me that by pruning the new shoots I was hindering its growth by not allowing it to grow as it wanted. Is that true?

I just planted a couple of serviceberries in early summer. They were purchased from a native plant nursery at a reasonable price, but are not named cultivars. One is a Saskatoon Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) and the other is a common or Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea). There are a number of other varieties too. The variety that is most often planted for human consumption is the Saskatoon Serviceberry. It generally grows as a large shrub rather than a tree, and has a number of named cultivars. Among the named cultivars, Regent is one of the smaller ones, and thus easier to net for protection from birds. Saint Lawrence Nursery in Potsdam carries a number of named cultivars with good descriptions. Among larger varieties, the Allegheny Serviceberry is said to be juicier and sweeter than the Downy Serviceberry according to one internet source, though I can't recall which one. The ones I planted were pot grown seedlings, about 15 inches tall. The Saskatoon Serviceberry already had berries on the seedling when I purchased it. They ripened within a couple of weeks after I planted it, so I got an early taste. We have deer where I am, and they like to munch on serviceberry twigs, so if you live where deer will frequent your yard, you'll need to provide protection. especially to seedlings. I use Irish Spring deodorant soap, which seems to work pretty well. I hung a half a bar by the Saskatoon Serviceberry, and the deer haven't touched it. I didn't get the soap hung by the Downy Serviceberry, and within a couple days it had been nibbled. Fortunately damage was minor, and I quickly got a bar of soap out by it. The deer have left it alone since then.. This is a very cost effective solution too. Half a bar of soap will last a couple years where I live, though we average 35-40 inches of rain annually

Zone 7, but which state? In TN zone 7, I know now is the perfect time to be planting. My Amelanchier canadensis isn't large enough yet to berry, but the 1 I had in TN bloomed and berried with no mate. The fruit production might be heavier, but it isn't necessary. How large is the one you've got? Or how long has it been in the ground? Mine blooms sparsely, but no berries yet and was a small/young plant when planted. For the Lindera benzoin, I have 6 of them. I have a small property too, but I wanted to make sure I had at least 1 female out of all those plants. Mine have been in the ground for 2 yrs (again small/young) and they haven't bloomed yet, so there would be no way for me to sex them. I'm not sure how big or how long they have to be in the ground before they bloom. Lindera benzoin is also a host to the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly, so that's just another plus in my book.

Serviceberries around here are fruiting heavily. My older Regent Shrubs have so many fruits now, I just can't believe it. The small Regents have fruit too, but not much of course, since I only put them in last year. So far I have seen the Mockingbird, Robin and Orioles eating the Serviceberries. The fruit is much larger than they were last year, I think because the shrubs had time to mature. The fruit on the small shrubs is much smaller. Anyway, there are no Catbirds here this year so I have been able to eat lots of the fruit myself. Last year the Catbirds just about camped out in the Serviceberry Shrubs and would eat the berries all day long as they ripened. Fruit on the Grandiflora is not ripe yet but I did eat some fruit off the Honeywood Serviceberry. It does taste slightly different from the Regent and not quite as big. I like the Regent better. Really, I think Regents are the best of the shrub Serviceberries and they only grow about 6 feet tall so never get too big. They set an amazing amount of fruit and start at an early age.