Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Ballerina'

Common name: Snowy Mespilus 'Ballerina' / Juneberry 'Ballerina'

Description: Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Ballerina' is one of the most celebrated and widely admired of all ornamental small trees for the British garden, an RHS Award of Garden Merit holder of outstanding four-season beauty that has earned its place as a firm favourite amongst garden designers and discerning gardeners for its graceful habit, spectacular spring blossom, and brilliant autumn colour. In early spring, the bare branches are transformed by a breathtaking and abundant display of pure white, star-shaped flowers carried in long, elegant, drooping racemes that smother the entire tree in a cloud of delicate, lightly fragrant blossom — one of the most joyful and uplifting spectacles the spring garden can offer, and an invaluable early nectar source for bees, hoverflies, and other emerging pollinators. The flowers coincide with the unfurling of the young foliage, which emerges in soft bronze-copper tones that provide a warm and flattering contrast to the white blossom. As spring gives way to summer, the leaves mature to a fresh, glossy mid-green, and in early summer small, round, sweet berries ripen through red to deep purple-black, proving highly attractive to blackbirds, thrushes, and other garden birds. 'Ballerina' reserves its most spectacular performance for autumn, however, when the foliage ignites in a prolonged and brilliant display of orange, red, and crimson before leaf fall, ensuring this outstanding tree contributes drama, beauty, and wildlife value from the first days of spring to the very last of autumn. The elegant, upright to broadly spreading habit develops with grace and character over the years, making 'Ballerina' suitable as a multi-stemmed specimen, a standard tree, or a key structural element in gardens of a wide range of sizes and styles.

Other benefits: RHS Award of Garden Merit; outstanding four-season interest; abundant lightly fragrant white spring blossom; sweet edible summer berries; spectacular fiery autumn colour; excellent wildlife value throughout the season; graceful and elegant habit suitable for gardens of most sizes; effective as a specimen, in a border, or as light canopy in a woodland-edge setting

Wildlife attraction: bees, hoverflies, butterflies, blackbirds, thrushes, and other berry-feeding birds

Height & spread (approx.) at 10 years: 5m x 4m

Position: full sun to partial shade; spring blossom and autumn colour are most spectacular in an open, sunny position; tolerates light shade well and is effective at the edge of a woodland garden

Soil pH: performs best in neutral to slightly acid soils; pH 5.5–7.0; avoid thin, dry, or very alkaline chalky soils; tolerates clay soils provided drainage is reasonable

Moisture: moderate watering required, particularly when establishing; prefers moisture-retentive but well-drained, fertile soil; tolerates heavier clay soils; avoid prolonged drought once established

Winter hardiness: fully hardy to approximately -20°C; no winter protection required anywhere in the UK