On 12/12/2012 22:34, Emery Davis wrote:
On 12/12/2012 11:32 PM, Spider wrote:
On 12/12/2012 16:13, echinosum wrote:

'Janet Tweedy[_2_ Wrote:
;974784']In article , Sacha

writes-
Sounds good and as if it might do the job then.-
A picture
'Amelanchier alnifolia 'Obelisk' ® amelanchier - Trees for Life - Frank
P. Matthews Ltd.' (http://tinyurl.com/c88y2uw)

That says to 4m. But mine has remained less than 2m after 10 years, but
it clearly isn't very happy. I think Amelanchiers don't like dry
conditions. The flowering period is extremely short, blink and they've
gone.

*Is* flowering that brief, or could the dry conditions you describe
cause the buds/flowers to abort? I would love to grow Amelanchier in
the near future, so would like to understand a bit more about its habit.
I'd be grateful for your reflections. For instance, are there plenty
of berries despite brief flowering,(which suggests to me that the
flowers persist long enough however apparently brief) or do you feel
there is a poor crop of berries. Do you know which form of Amelanchier
you are growing?


Jumping in here, I grow A. lamarckii, flowering is indeed very brief
(but lovely). It's in a pretty wet spot where it thrives. Birds get
the berries before us, though!

I would have said it was a spreading shrub, so 'Obelisk' sounds very
interesting.

The spring leaf out is a gorgeous bronze colour, and the pure white
flowers make a really pretty contrast. Good fall colour too, mixed reds
and purples.



Thanks, Emery. That useful to know. Reckon I'll have to put up with a
short flowering period then. I could always grow a clematis through it
for summer flowers. Can you tell me if A. lamarckii, in your
experience, is the obedient tree type or the suckering shrub type?

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay