Amelanchier canadensis Rainbow Pillar

Amelanchier canadensis 'Rainbow Pillar' (synonym 'Glenn Form') is a variety of Canadian serviceberry that is interesting for its fastigiate and narrow habit, perfectly suited for small spaces. Its autumn colours are as beautiful as any among the species, in various shades of yellow, orange, flamboyant red, and purple. This variety is particularly floriferous in early spring: its clusters of white. honey-scented flowers give way to red fruits that turn black when ripe, appreciated by birds and edible for us. The Canadian serviceberry is an extremely cold-resistant shrub that tolerates a wide range of soils as long as they remain moist. True to its reputation, 'Rainbow Pillar' is an excellent hedge shrub, suitable for hedgerows or countryside planting.                                                                          

Native to Canada and eastern North America, Amelanchier canadensis is a robust shrub in the large Rosaceae family, spared by most parasites and resistant to extreme cold. The cultivar 'Rainbow Pillar' closely resembles it, but exhibits a curiously fastigiate habit with its upright branches. With rapid growth, the shrub reaches a height of about 4m (13 ft) with a spread of 1.50m (5 ft) at maturity. The leaves are deciduous, leathery, elliptical, finely dentate along the edges, fuzzy, and 3 to 7cm (2.8 in) long. The foliage is medium green with a lighter underside, when young it is downy and tinted copper at budburst, while in autumn it is beautifully multicoloured. Flowering is abundant in April-May, on branches that will be bare or already adorned with young leaves depending on the climate. Flowering and fruiting are quick in this serviceberry: plants as small as 30 or 40cm (12 - 16 in) tall are already capable of reproducing. Encased in a pink calyx, the pretty white flowers with 5 long petals and yellow stamens are gathered in clusters along the branches. They are followed by edible fruits the size of a small pea, globular, called pomes, initially bright red and turning black when ripe. Slightly sweet in taste, they are perfect for making jam.

With its narrow habit, the 'Rainbow Pillar' serviceberry is able to fit into any garden, even the smallest ones. As sturdy as it is charming, this serviceberry grows in any good garden soil that is sufficiently deep and moist, in sunny or partially shaded sites. It can be used as a specimen plant or in the background of perennial beds. It works wonders in hedges and countryside plantings, alongside Cotinus, deciduous euonymus, Indigofera gerardiana, Japanese or spring-blooming spiraeas, viburnums, Neilia affinis, medlar, prunus, and many others.