Safe to Plant

Serviceberry · Zhu Cheng City, Shandong, China

When to plant serviceberries in Zhu Cheng City

Main outdoor window

12 Nov - 17 Mar

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

31 March

In Zhu Cheng City, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

1 Jun - 31 Jul

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Zhu Cheng City

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Plant the shrub

12 Nov - 17 Mar

Any time the plant is dormant and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged: after leaf fall in autumn, or at the end of winter before growth restarts.

Harvest

1 Jun - 31 Jul

Frost tolerance
Very-hardy
First crop
Year 3
Chill needed
700 hours
Hardy to
Zone 2a–7a
Spacing
180 cm
Sun
Full

Serviceberries through the year

Against the frost risk in Zhu Cheng City

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Plant Harvest Today

Why these dates

Hardy to zone 2 and flowers early without much frost damage - the blossom tolerates several degrees below freezing.

Serviceberries are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Zhu Cheng City is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.

Zhu Cheng City sits in zone 7b, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 3, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

See every crop timed for Zhu Cheng City →

Growing serviceberries in Zhu Cheng City

When should I plant serviceberries in Zhu Cheng City?

Aim for 12 Nov - 17 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 1 Nov - 28 Mar - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will serviceberries be ready to harvest in Zhu Cheng City?

Expect to start picking around 1 Jun - 31 Jul, based on 60 to 80 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will serviceberries tolerate?

Hardy to zone 2 and flowers early without much frost damage - the blossom tolerates several degrees below freezing.