Knowledgebase

Serviceberry Tree Problem #909496

Asked July 11, 2025, 10:01 PM EDT

We planted 2 Serviceberry trees 2 years ago. They did well last year but this year 1 tree appears to be dead and the other one isn't looking good. What is going on with them?

Goodhue County Minnesota

Expert Response

Thanks for your question regarding your serviceberries.

In looking at your pictures, I can see the following:

1). There is less foliage than I would expect at this time of the season (mid-July 2025).

2). While the tree may be struggling, there is some new foliage. This is a plus as it indicates your serviceberries are still showing vitality.

3). Perhaps most striking to me was that some branches were completely devoid of foliage and others had good foliage. Although there may be several reasons for this, I believe the most likely explanation is that some developing leaf buds had been adversely affected early this spring while others developed normally. It was all dependent upon branch location on the tree.  It is possible that during the duration of the 2025 season, these bare branches will develop new leaf buds with resulting green foliage.

Here are my three thoughts:

1). Although they were planted in 2023, both trees may still be experiencing some transplant shock. Often this shows up after some time from transplantation. In 2024, your serviceberries were using plant energy that in part had been produced in 2023. However, there was insufficient plant energy produced in 2024 due to being freshly transplanted.  This resulted in marginal foliage now in 2025. See:

https://blog.davey.com/helping-trees-recover-from-transplant-shock/

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/bp/bp-31.html - :~:text=If stress is not alleviated,This is not recommended.

2). I don’t know how much light your service berries are receiving in their new location. Perhaps not enough? See:

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/tree/serviceberry/ - :~:text=Serviceberries perform well in full,spot for part-shade plants.

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/serviceberry-amelanchier-spp/

3). I believe both trees are basically healthy. During this past spring (2025), especially in April, there were days of very warm temperatures interspersed by days with cold night temperatures. I suspect that many leaf buds on your serviceberries started to develop on those warm days and then experience adverse, even killing, night temperatures. See:

https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/cold-weather-dieback-will-your-plants-and-trees-survive/

Good luck. Thanks for consulting us. Please get back to us if you have further questions.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied July 19, 2025, 8:08 PM EDT
Thanks for the info. 

Tim

Time flies. Slow down. Keep it simple.


On Sat, Jul 19, 2025 at 7:08 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied July 20, 2025, 1:30 PM EDT

Glad to have been of assistance.  I'm pretty hopeful that your two serviceberries will perk up nicely.  Thanks for consulting us.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied July 20, 2025, 3:05 PM EDT

Loading ...