Juneberry in flower

Juneberry (Amelanchier arborea), also called serviceberry, is in flower now. This is one of the handsome early-flowering shrubs (small trees) of our area.

We used to have a few of these shrubs growing in savanna areas, but unfortunately, they disappeared during our restoration work. I'm not sure why they did not survive. According to the U.S. Forest Service database on fire effects, juneberry is a fire survivor and although top-killed by fire, is able to resprout from the root crown. The photo above shows one of the last survivors, in Unit 12A (the White Oak Savanna). This area had been burned several times without effect on the shrub, but it later died out. Possibly some other factor was at work. We were sorry to see it go, but considered the sacrifice worth it because of the desire to burn the savanna. (Burning the savannas every year is one of the best ways of knocking back invasive shrubs as part of a long-term control process.)

Since this is a nice shrub to have around, we decided to plant a couple near our newly constructed privy. It has taken a few years to get them started, but the photo shows what one of them looks like this year. Eventually, it should be big enough so that it will provide some screening for the privy.