Saskatoons – Staple of the Prairies
- stenette0
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
by Kate Wilson
Saskatoon berries, roots and branches sustained Indigenous peoples and settlers over harsh winters, the fruit is full of magnesium, iron, calcium and vitamins, and is delicious. It has even been called a super food.
Yet an informal survey of city yards indicates saskatoons are an uncommon occurrence. Residents growing this bountiful plant seem rare. This article hopefully inspires gardeners to consider this versatile shrub when you’re thinking of what to add to your landscaping or edible garden.
Native to North America, saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) is in the Rosaceae family, along with fruit trees such as apples, cherries and pears. In the US it is known as juneberry, shadbush or serviceberry, but that name is also applied to several of the approximately 20 species in the Amelanchier genus. Some are shrubby, some grow as small trees. Six species occur in Europe and Asia.
Alnifolia is from the Latin for alder (alnus) and leaf (folium). Service berry appears to be a name used by European immigrants who found it similar in appearance to the European "service tree". Amelanchier derives from amélanche, the old French Provençal and Savoyard name for the European Amelanchier ovalis, which in turn originates from a Celtic word meaning "little apples". The name of the city of Saskatoon comes from the Cree word misâskwatômina or saskahtômina for the berry.
A hardy perennial
Saskatoon’s hardiness and dry-climate tolerance ensures that it grows across a range of conditions, as long as there is no standing water. It can grow as high as six metres, depending on conditions such as moisture and exposure, and many people may not realize that saskatoons grow quite low in grasslands and open areas – making for easy picking!
In early spring, before the leaves are fully out, look for the familiar clusters of white blossoms. Flowers are 2.5-5 cm across with five, somewhat narrowly rectangular petals and five sepals, 20 stamens and five styles, somewhat crowded. Bloom time is April to late June; however, this is dependent on the seasonal conditions, latitude and elevation.
As referenced in the species name, the leaves are oval to nearly circular, 2–5 cm long and almost as broad, occurring alternately on the branch. Look for the characteristic toothed margin along the top half.
The dark purple fruit is a pome – the botanical classification for fruits of trees in the Rosaceae family. They can be small to semi bite-sized, 5-15 mm in diameter.
Amelanchier alnifolia occurs across Canada from Hudson Bay to BC and the western United States; from the dry prairies to Yukon and Alaska and from sea level up to 2600 m elevation in California and 3400 m in the Rockies. It occurs as a common shrub in the understory of open woodlands and in clumps on prairies, open slopes and forest margins.
The shrubs thrive on most soils, as long as there is organic matter and good drainage. They prefer slightly acidic conditions but will grow reasonably well in alkaline soil, to a pH up to 7.5. Saskatoons are among the first plants to bloom in spring, making them susceptible to early spring frosts. Locations with a gentle slope and good air drainage are ideal for cultivation.
Nutrition and medicine
Saskatoon berries are nutritionally dense, containing vitamins C, A, E and B, and minerals including potassium, manganese and iron as well as significant amounts of fibre. Their mineral content is similar to that of blueberries, but they pack a bigger punch, with roughly double the iron and vitamin C content and up to seven times the calcium of blueberries.
Notably, they are a better source of calcium than red meat or cereals, and bestow antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. They have also been linked to lower LDL cholesterol and improved blood glucose management.
Saskatoons are part of the traditional, staple diet of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the western US – well known as an ingredient in pemmican, a preparation of dried meat to which saskatoon berries are added as flavour and preservative. The fruit is versatile - it can be eaten fresh, cooked in pies, used in desserts; it can be canned, frozen or made into juice, and it makes great wine!
The fruit and leaves of saskatoon were used for multiple purposes in traditional Indigenous medicine.
Harvest
Saskatoon berries ripen from mid-July to early August, depending on the region and seasonal weather. As many saskatoon pickers know, the harvest window is short, about 10 to 14 days once they begin to mature – a berry just turning from red to purple will be ripe within as little as 48 hours. However, they ripen in staggered timing, so returning to the same tree over the two weeks maximizes harvest.
Shrinking the window even more, for full flavour, one should defer from picking them the exact moment they switch to purple. According to the Alberta Government's Saskatoon Berry Production Manual, the fruit needs a few additional days in this purple phase to develop maximum flavour.
Propagation
Saskatoons respond reasonably well to seed germination. But since they don’t regenerate from seed true to the characteristics of the parent plants, if you want to replicate the fruit excellence in a particular bush, cuttings or separating and transplanting suckers are the way to go.
Suckers are best taken in the spring or fall. Dig around the sucker, or new growth, and separate it from the main root. Placed into a bed or pot with good drainage and steady moisture, and partial shade in the beginning, they will take nicely.
Root cuttings are another method, always taken when the plant is dormant in autumn or early spring.
For softwood cuttings, look for new growth just beginning to firm up, and take a length 10–15 cm long with a few leaves at the top, around mid to late June. For hardwood cuttings, timing is crucial, when the plant's growth has ceased and the wood is hard, typically in late fall.
If you’re growing from seed, instructions vary. One source says a warm water soak for 24 hours, then cold-moist stratify for 160 to 180 days. According to another, seeds need a 6 to 8 week cold-moist stratification, then in room temperature water for 12 hours, and then back into the fridge for another 60 – 90 days. Or sow in the fall outdoors.
To separate the seeds, macerate the ripe berries, carefully remove the pulp surrounding the seed, then gently wash them in water and allow to air dry before storing in a sealed, refrigerated container. Seeds can be stored for up to five years.
Unlike many of our native perennials, saskatoon seeds do not need light to germinate, and planting at 6–10 mm depth will give best results.
In your landscaping
Saskatoons are adaptable to most soil types, with the exception of poorly drained or heavy clay soils or lacking organic matter. Winter hardiness is exceptional, but frost can damage blooms as late as May.
Full sun is ideal for the best fruit production; however, in the understory they will be taller and thinner and less bountiful. Do whatever you can to increase air circulation, such as trimming out the lower branches or spacing individual plantings. If you want to discourage their spreading out, planting them a few inches deeper will mean they’re less likely to sucker.
Saskatoons are self-fertile, meaning the flowers of a single plant will pollinate each other. You get fruit even if you have only one bush. While they don’t require a pollination partner, they produce more fruit when planted in groups. Keep in mind there is a multitude of saskatoon cultivars, and the native plant will happily cross-pollinate and hybridize in a mixed setting.
Berries are mostly on the previous year's growth and, less numerously, on older branches. The largest berries come from vigorous branches one to four years old, so to maintain highest quality fruit production on second-year twigs thin out the bush by removing very old, less-fruitful wood.
Like many fruit trees and bushes, plants often fruit more heavily every second year, something called biennial bearing.
Pests can be controlled
Alberta saskatoon producer, Arden Delidais, noted that people can be reluctant to grow saskatoons because of a “disease mystique” for the plants, but it was also noted that pests and diseases of saskatoons in a home garden are infrequent.
Fungal pests include blackleaf/witch’s broom disease caused by Apiosporina collinsii, resulting in unsightly dense clusters of blackened leaves; heavy infections can lead to mortality.
Gymnosporangium is a genus of fungi that causes rust diseases in saskatoon and other rosaceous shrubs. Its two-year life cycle alternates between a conifer (usually a juniper) and a woody plant in the rose family. The cycling between saskatoons and junipers can be avoided by not planting where you or your neighbours have junipers. If you see the yellowish galls on juniper that host the disease, cut them off.
Another pest, the woolly elm aphid, has multiple generations on elm leaves and in spring or early summer migrates to saskatoon and feeds on the roots, then returns to the elm to overwinter. They are less of a problem in mature shrubs, and careful management of water, air flow and low plant density helps reduce pests.
For wildlife and for your home
Saskatoons are a larval host for some swallowtail butterflies, rabbits and hares snack on young branches over winter, birds love the berries, and the foliage is browsed by deer, squirrels and bears.
Whether we want to forage for saskatoons along a city trail or select a few specimens to grow in our yards, we’re blessed to have such a giving native plant brimming with health benefits and habitat potential.
To find out more
Food Garden Life (Guide to Growing Saskatoon Berries)
DNA Gardens – Blog (Health Benefits of Saskatoons)
Alberta Government (Saskatoons in Alberta)
D\E-flora UBC (Amelanchier alnifolia var. semiintegrifolia)
Prairie Berries – Blog (5 Nutrient-Packed Reasons to Eat This Superfruit)
University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoons)
