The Saskatoon berry bush is a shrub that bears fruits, and it is native to the Yukon and Northwest Territories, the northern plans of the United States and the Canadian prairies. The Saskatoon berry bush is very well versed at adapting to its surroundings, and can be grown in a wide variety of climates. It typically takes about two to four years before a Saskatoon berry bush starts producing fruit, but with correct management, a Saskatoon berry farmer can produce 8 to 10 tons of fruit per hectare.
The fruit is normally referred to as being a berry, but it is actually a pome. Native Americans used the Saskatoon berry as a main source of sustenance, and the Saskatoon berry could be picked readily in the wild until recently. In recent years, a renewed interest in the Saskatoon berry has occurred, and there are currently hundreds of acres of Saskatoons in production around North America.
Saskatoon Berry Bush Description
Saskatoon bushis in the rose family. Rosaceae is the official family name, and this very large plant family includes apples, plums, cherries, and - of course - roses!
This western saskatoon, Amelanchier alnifolia, usually grows to shrub-size.
- Leaves: Its alternate leaves are oval-shaped, about 2 cm - 6 cm (3/4 - 2 1/2 in.) long and slightly longer than they are broad. They are usually rounded at the tip and straight across at the base, with teeth at the upper edges.
- Shrub: The saskatoon bush, with edible berries similar in flavor to blueberries, grows in every province and territory in Canada, and across much of the United States. It ranges in size from a low shrub to a small tree - it can be a single stem less than 30 cm (12 in.) high or a clump of small trees over 6 m (20 ft.) high. The tips of young branches are reddish brown, but the older stems below them are gray. In winter, the buds have scales with small white hairs at their edges, and when the buds begin to open, downy-white leaf edges peep out.
- Flowers: Saskatoon bushess, in any one area, usually flower over a two-week period. The tiny flowers (only 9 mm - 12 mm [1/3 - 1/2 in.] across) are snowy white, with five petals and 12 - 20 stamens. The flowers appear in a cluster, each cluster having 5 to 11 flowers. The flowers last between two and five days. The terminal flower and a few basal flowers open first, followed by the flowers in the middle of the cluster. In early summer, small groups of reddish purple to black berries develop from the flower clusters.
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