Smoky Saskatoon (Serviceberry) vs Thiessen Saskatoon (Serviceberry)
Amelanchier alnifolia Thiessen
Amelanchier alnifolia Smoky
Thiessen Saskatoon is a deciduous shrub that produces delicious edible fruit. It is one of the most productive saskatoon varieties. Its fruit is great in pies, preserves or eating fresh.
Thiessen Saskatoon is popular with U-Picks and home owners because of its taller tree-like shape and larger berries. But it is not the best choice for berry orchards as it is too tall for most mechanical harvesting equipment.
Smoky Saskatoon is a large deciduous shrub that suckers and produces edible fruit. Smoky Saskatoons are one of the most productive and widely used Saskatoons and have large sweet berries with good yields.
One of the oldest and first good yielding cultivars, a majority of the commercial saskatoon orchards were based on this cultivar until Northline and other cultivars were introduced.
Smoky has slightly smaller fruit than Northline and a milder taste but is not acidic like Pembina, Thiessen or Honeywood.