Honeywood Saskatoon (Serviceberry) vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Honeywood Saskatoon (Serviceberry) vs Bilberry

Amelanchier alnifolia Honeywood

Vaccinium myrtillus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Honeywood Saskatoon (Serviceberry)
Bilberry

Honeywood Saskatoon, also known as Serviceberries, is excellent at producing an abundance of blue-coloured berries in mid-summer and has dark green foliage that turns yellow in the fall. It is quite large making it a perfect shrub in your backyard garden. Often grown for its edible qualities, the Honeywood Saskatoon is quite ornamental with stunning white blooms in the spring.

Bilberry is a native perennial shrub valued for its small, blue-black berries that ripen in mid to late summer. The berries resemble blueberries but have a richer, more tart, and intense flavor. They have long been used for fresh eating, baking, and preserves, while also providing food for birds and mammals. In spring, its delicate pinkish flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

Growing low to the ground, Bilberry forms spreading colonies that create dense understory cover. This growth habit provides food and shelter for wildlife, and its foliage adds seasonal interest by turning red to purple in autumn. With its adaptability and ecological benefits, Bilberry is well-suited for naturalization, ecological restoration, and pollinator gardens.

Honeywood Saskatoon (Serviceberry) Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: produces large edible berries
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, YT, NT
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: honeywood juneberry, honeywood service berry
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry