PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Saskatoon Berry
Amelanchier alnifolia
🍓 Fruit
🔁 Perennial
A pretty shrub with white spring blossom, sweet purple berries in July (a bit like blueberries with almond) and bright autumn colour.
At a glance: harvest in July.
When to plant and care for it
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowers
Harvest
Prune
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Saskatoon Berry: what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well while fruit swells
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 2 m
- Height
- 2–3 m
- In pots
- Only in large containers
- Feeding
- Sulphate of potash in late winter; mulch with compost
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 2–7
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant 2 m apart in weed-free, well-prepared soil enriched with compost, and water in well.
- 0–3 days after “Plant”
Water In
Water well and keep moist while it settles in.
- 7–21 days after “Water In”
Mulch
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plants to keep moisture in and weeds down.
Every year
- FebruaryPrune
Only thin out the oldest or crossing stems when needed.
- AprilIn Flower
Clouds of white blossom — take a photo.
- JuneNet Against Birds
Net the bush as the berries start to colour — birds love them.
- JulyPick Saskatoons
Pick when the berries are dark purple and sweet.
Starts from year 2.
