Smoky Saskatoon (Serviceberry) vs Northern Bush Honeysuckle - TreeTime.ca

Smoky Saskatoon (Serviceberry) vs Northern Bush Honeysuckle

Amelanchier alnifolia Smoky

Diervilla lonicera

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Smoky Saskatoon (Serviceberry)
Northern Bush Honeysuckle

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.

The Northern Bush Honeysuckle is a small, dense, deciduous shrub. The trumpet-like yellow flowers bloom late spring to early summer. Dark green leaves turn yellow then red in the fall. The flower nectar has a sweet honey taste that can be sucked out of the flower.

Because of its aggressive suckering habit, the Northern Bush Honeysuckle makes a great hedge, shrub border, or thicket in a woodland garden.

Smoky Saskatoon (Serviceberry) Quick Facts

Northern Bush Honeysuckle Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 3a
Height: 4 m (14 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: very fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: medium
Suckering: high


Fall colour: orange to red
Flowers: yellow to red
Berries: produces large edible berries great for eating raw
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, YT, NT
Native to: SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: alder-leaf shadbush, dwarf shadbush, pacific serviceberry, pigeon berry, smokey saskatoon, smokey serviceberry, western juneberry, western serviceberry
Other Names: low bush honeysuckle