Growing Serviceberry Seeds

Serviceberries are tall shrubs or small trees that bloom in early spring. The white flowers hang in clusters, and they are followed by small, reddish-purple berries. In most cases, you will have to harvest the berries when they ripen in summer to extract the seeds because the seeds aren’t readily available for purchase by home gardeners. You’ll need patience to grow serviceberries from seeds because it takes several months to prepare the seeds for planting, and germination may take several additional months.

Things You'll Need

• Blender with a dull or rubber blade
• Wire screen
• Peat moss
• Perlite
• Vermiculite
• Glass jar with lid
• Mulch

Instructions

Harvesting and Preparing Seeds

1. Harvest the berries in summer when the seeds are completely ripe. Ripe seeds are dark brown with a leathery coating.

2. Place the berries in a blender container and process on low speed until the they are macerated.

3. Rinse the seeds over a wire screen to remove the fruit. Fruit left on the seed will ferment and ruin the seeds.

4. Lay the seeds out to dry on the screen overnight or until they are completely dry. Discard the smallest seeds.

5. Place a mixture of one part vermiculite, one part perlite and one part peat moss in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Mix in the seeds and seal the jar. Place the jar in the refrigerator for 3 to 6 months.

Planting Seeds

1. Plant the seeds in spring, directly in the garden or landscape where you want them to grow. Place three seeds in each location and cover them with one-fourth inch of moistened soil.

2. Mark the area where you planted the seeds. It may take several months for seedlings to emerge.

3. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. Don’t allow water to stand in the area.

4. Thin to one seedling per location once they emerge.

5. Apply mulch around the seedlings when they are tall enough that they won’t be buried. Mulch insulates the soil against drastic changes in temperature and moisture content. It also reduces the number of weeds.

Tips & Warnings

• Birds are fond of serviceberry seeds. Keep them from eating all the berries before they are ripe enough to harvest by covering the bush with bird netting.

• Berries from wild serviceberry shrubs are generally infested with insects and diseases and have a very low germination rate.

• You can store serviceberry seeds in the refrigerator for up to five years.

References

• United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service: Pacific Serviceberry
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Amelanchier Arborea
• United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service: Utah Serviceberry
• Montana State University Extension: Growing Trees and Shrubs from Seed