Amelanchier laevis Ballerina

Amelanchier laevis 'Ballerina' is a fruitful and ornamental variety of Amelanchier. It is notable for the beauty of its young shoots tinged with bronze, its generous spring flowering with large pure white star-shaped flowers, its edible and delicious fruits of good size, and its vibrant autumn colours. Amelanchiers are easy to grow and very rewarding shrubs or small trees. 'Ballerina' is no exception to the rule, making it an excellent choice for a free hedge, hedgerow, or countryside planting. 

Originating from Canada and Eastern North America, Amelanchier laevis and A. lamarckii are robust shrubs from the large Rosaceae family, spared by most parasites and resistant to extreme cold. The cultivar 'Ballerina', obtained in England before 1970, was selected for the quality of its fruits and its floribundity. It has a regular, bushy, and spreading habit. It often forms multiple trunks that support a semi-open crown, with slightly spreading branches. With rather slow growth, the shrub will reach about 5 m (16.4 ft) in height and 3 m (9.8 ft) in width at maturity. The leaves are deciduous, leathery, elliptical, finely toothed at the edges, and pubescent, measuring from 3 cm to 7 cm (1.2 in to 2.8 in) in length. The foliage is medium green with a lighter underside, and when young, it is pubescent and copper-coloured. In autumn, it turns beautiful shades of red, orange, and purple. The flowering is remarkably abundant in April-May, on bare branches or already adorned with young leaves depending on the climate. This Amelanchier quickly flowers and fruits: plants that are 30 cm or 40 cm (11.8 in to 15.7 in) tall are already capable of reproducing. Encased in a pink calyx, the large white flowers with 5 long petals and yellow stamens are gathered in clusters along the branches. They are followed by round edible fruits the size of a blueberry, called pomes. They are initially bright red and then turn black when ripe. With a pleasantly sweet and juicy flavour, they are perfect for making jam.

'Ballerina' is a hardy fruiting shrub that is both undemanding and charming, deserving a place in a countryside, free or fruit hedge. It is also used as a background plant in perennial borders. It pairs well with ornamental apple and cherry trees, deciduous euonymus, Japanese quince, spring-blooming spireas, hawthorns, medlar, plum, and many others.