Tennessee Smart Yards Native Plants
A comprehensive database of Tennessee native plants
Allegheny Serviceberry, Smooth Serviceberry
Allegheny Serviceberry, Smooth Serviceberry
Amelanchier laevis
Sun to light shade; moderately wet to medium moisture level; preferred soil includes coarse loamy sands, sandy loams to medium loams; slightly acid pH.
25-40 feet height by 8-18 feet spread; blooms in spring; white flowers; reddish black to purple fruits ripen in June.
Growth Rate: Moderate
Maintenance: Infrequent disease and insect problems
Propagation: Moderately easy from seed and moderately difficult from cuttings
Native Region: Concentrated in the Ridge and Valley and the Blue Ridge provinces with isolated spots in Western and Middle Tennessee
This species is the Amelanchier “tree of choice.” It has large flowers and delicious, sweet dark purple fruits. It occasionally hybridizes with A. arborea in the wild to produce Amelanchier x grandiflora, Apple Serviceberry, which is available commercially. High wildlife value.
shrub;sun;wet;loam
shrub;sun;wet;sand
shrub;sun;medium;loam
shrub;sun;medium;sand
shrub;sun/shade;wet;loam
shrub;sun/shade;wet;sand
shrub;sun/shade;medium;loam
shrub;sun/shade;medium;sand
shrub;shade;wet;loam
shrub;shade;wet;sand
shrub;shade;medium;loam
shrub;shade;medium;sand
Tennessee Smart Yards Native Plants 
We have one of these in our backyard, and I adore it. It’s not a fussy tree – requires very little care – has very pretty blooms in early spring and pretty berries in fall and winter. However, it needs careful pruning. The previous owners of our home didn’t thin out the inner branches when it was young, and it’s managed to wind some of its main limbs around the central vertical one. Now there’s not much we can do, since it’s caused large wounds in the main trunk that would be left exposed if we removed the offending limbs.