AMÉLANCHIER, PETIT ARBRE À FLEURS ET AUX FRUITS COMESTIBLES (LE QUOTIDIEN DU JARDIN, émission N°51)

NewsJardinTV, the channel dedicated entirely to plants, gardens, botany, and gardening, is pleased to offer you episode 51 of its daily program: "Le Quotidien du Jardin" (The Garden Daily). This program is available free of charge for 24 hours, after which it becomes exclusively available to NewsJardinTV Le Club members, who can access it at any time, along with all episodes of "Bienvenue au Jardin" (Welcome to the Garden) (starting with episode 68). Patrick Mioulane, the editor-in-chief of NewsJardinTV, presents the program from his small garden in Essonne. He is seated in his veranda, decorated with an abundant plant collection. His "Little Gardener," Nicole, is filming the program. Patrick answers a question from our subscriber Cindy, who emailed us at [email protected]: “I would like to plant a small tree in my garden in western Paris that flowers well and also produces edible fruit. I discovered the Canadian serviceberry in a catalog. Can you tell me if it would be a good choice?” “It’s a perfectly valid and interesting choice.” The name "serviceberry" is derived from the Provençal word "amélancier," which refers to Amelanchier ovalis (oval-leaved serviceberry), a species native to France that was also called "wild medlar." The genus Amelanchier was established in 1789 by the German botanist and physician Friedrich Kasimir Medikus (1736-1808), who was curator of the Mannheim Botanical Garden (Baden-Württemberg). There are 28 species, including several natural forms and varieties. The serviceberry belongs to the Rosaceae family, like most of our fruit trees. Serviceberries are trees or shrubs ranging from 3 to 12 meters in height, depending on the species, and grow in damp woodlands and along waterways in Europe, Asia, and North America. They are characterized in April by their clusters of star-shaped, five-pointed flowers, 1 to 2 cm in diameter, formed by white or pink-tinged petals. The fragrant blooms The slightly vanilla-scented fragrance is spectacular but lasts no more than ten days. The deciduous, alternate, oval to oblong leaves often emerge bronze, at the same time as the flowers. They turn beautiful copper and orange in autumn. In summer, spherical or pear-shaped fruits, purple or brown, ripen: serviceberries, which attract birds. These are small, rounded berries, about 1 cm in diameter. Sweet and fragrant, serviceberries are generally eaten cooked, but those of Amelanchier lamarckii, Amelanchier laevis, and Amelanchier alnifolia, particularly the cultivar ‘Krasnojarskaja’, are also delicious fresh. Note that serviceberries contain an enzyme that prevents them from setting when made into jam or jelly. Amelanchier canadensis is the species most commonly offered by nurseries. It is a suckering tree, well-branched with an upright habit. The oval leaves, 4 to 5 cm long, turn yellow, then red in autumn. Amelanchier lamarckii is almost identical to the Canadian serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), but its stems are covered in white down in spring, and its leaves are longer (8 cm) and a darker green in summer. Furthermore, while the Canadian serviceberry's inflorescences are upright, those of Amelanchier lamarckii are drooping and larger. The serviceberry needs rich, deep, cool, and well-drained soil. It can withstand frosts down to -30°C, but it dislikes excessively hot and dry summers as well as prevailing winds. Organic mulching around the base is strongly recommended, as is watering during hot weather. A serviceberry can be planted as a specimen tree in a small garden or used in informal hedges, as it tolerates pruning well after flowering, although in this case, the fruit is lost. Fruiting. Thank you for watching this daily program. We hope you enjoyed this short video interlude and that it provided a relaxing moment while offering useful information. Day by day, together with your questions and Patrick's answers, we are building a veritable video encyclopedia of gardening knowledge, which only NewsJardinTV Le Club members can access at any time. So don't hesitate to join by clicking on the "join" button on this page. The entire NewsJardinTV team wishes you all a wonderful evening and looks forward to seeing you tomorrow at 7 p.m. for a new program: "THE GARDEN DAILY." It's on NewsJardinTV and nowhere else! Tomorrow, Patrick will answer this question: Are you familiar with katrafay, a highly regarded medicinal plant in Madagascar? I would like to grow it in my apartment; do you think it's possible?