We’re berry excited for this extra delicious plant face-off. In this week’s shrub showdown, our hosts go head to head with serviceberries and haskaps. Sean represents the former, a member of the Amelanchier genus also known as saskatoons, juneberries, and shadbushes, among other names. With cocky confidence of a guaranteed win, he extols their hardiness (down to zone 1!), their robust hybridization, and their independence when it comes to fertilization. Who needs a pollenizer? Not serviceberry! Sometimes they don’t even need pollinators. With tangents into breeding seedless fruits and food-as-medicine research, we savour serviceberry’s taste, versatility, abundance, ecosystem benefits, and ability to thrive across North America.Erin swings in second with haskaps, a relatively new fruit on the commercial block. She tells us about breeding programs in near-polar regions around the world that are crossing varieties from Canada, Russia, and Japan for taste and resilience. While haskaps do need pollenizers to set fruit, Erin argues for their ease of care, their long lives, and their bountiful all-at-once harvests. The conversation delves into humane ways of bird-proofing berry crops, the perils of “superfood” marketing, and the fragility of fruit trees that bloom too soon. Haskap blossoms, by the way, can survive a -7 C frost. Who made you want to grow their berry of choice in your own garden? Vote for your favourite by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #PAWFaceOff. CitationsServiceberry Species in OntarioMuma, W. (n.d.). Serviceberries Group. Ontario Trees and Shrubs. https://ontariotrees.com/main/group.php?id=81The Downy Serviceberry TreeTree Canada, Arbres Canada. (2017, August 6). Downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) - Tree Canada. Tree Canada. https://treecanada.ca/resources/trees-of-canada/downy-serviceberry-amelanchier-arborea/ The cultivar “Altaglow”, a dwarf Saskatoon, is hardy to zone 1Mahr, S. (n.d.). Serviceberry, Amelanchier spp. Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/serviceberry-amelanchier-spp/ Serviceberry phytochemical researchDonno, D., Cerutti, A., Mellano, M., Prgomet, Z., & Beccaro, G. (2016). Serviceberry, a berry fruit with growing interest of industry: Physicochemical and quali-quantitative health-related compound characterisation. Journal of Functional Foods, 26, 157–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2016.07.014Haskap resilience.Camerise Québec. (2025, January 21). Grow haskap - Camerise Québec. https://camerisequebec.com/en/grow-haskap/Growing haskaps in Canada resource from the University of Saskatchewan breeding programBors, B. & University of Saskatchewan. (n.d.). Growing haskap in Canada. https://research-groups.usask.ca/fruit/documents/haskap/growinghaskapinCanada.pdfAntioxidants and Vitamin C in haskaps: Specialty CroppertunitiesOntario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. (n.d.-a). Haskap. Specialty Croppertunities. https://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/CropOp/en/spec_fruit/berries/hask.htmlHaskap care for home gardenersHaskaps - Gardening at USASK - College of Agriculture and Bioresources. (n.d.). Gardening. https://gardening.usask.ca/gardening-advice/gardenline-nested-pages/food-plant-pages/fruit/haskap.phpComments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcastWebsite: www.plantsalwayswin.com CreditsWebsite Design and Illustration by Sophia AlladinIntro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-playsLicense code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PHTimestamps00:12 Introduction 1:12 What's Growing On: Erin’s Weeding Adventures1:58 What’s Growing On: Sean’s Woodchips and Natural Wall06:12 Should Have Asked for a Hoe09:15 The Plant Face Off: Serviceberries, Sean’s Guaranteed Win?10:20 A Serviceberry By Any Other Name13:30 Range and Growing Habits17:35 Sean’s Ode to the Beauty of the Serviceberry20:50 Apomixis: This Plant Don’t Need No Man (or Woman)22:40 Diploids and Polyploids: Making Seedless Plants26:35 Serviceberry Hardiness Zones29:30 Serviceberry Pests and Diseases32:16 When Will Western Medicine Research More Food?33:59 All Hail Alexis Nikole, AKA Black Forager36:42 The Plant Face-Off: Haskaps35:06 Haskap Etymology: Hasukappu, Honeyberry, Lonicera caerulea38:36 The Endless Loop of Inter-Referential Internet Research40:27 The Cultivation History of Haskaps43:10 The University of Saskatchewan Breeding Program45:00 Using Fruit Tree Pollenizers49:17 What’s a Haskap Like Anyway? Totally Tubular.48:53 How to Know Your Haskap Berries are Ripe50:11 Safe Bird Netting for Berries51:43 Haskaps Tolerate Cold, Clay, Damp, Disease, and Pests54:25 Haskap Uses: Food, Medicine and Superfoods56:45 Plant Care: Growing Haskaps at Home58:55 Patented Plants1:02:00 Outro and Contact Us
