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
Serviceberries through the year
Against the frost risk in Zhu Cheng City
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.
Also in Zhu Cheng City
Other fruits to time
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.