These images are intended to give you a guide to how the serviceberry plants change through the seasons.
How can you tell if a leaf bud is broken? Below are 3 examples.
The first is a completely unbroken bud, this is what all the buds look like from November through March or so.
The second shot is a leaf bud that is breaking, but since you can't see the stems of the leaves, it is not yet open.
The third is a flower and leaf bud that again is breaking, but is not open - you cannot see the leaf stem.
Completely Unbroken Bud
Unbroken Leaf bud
Unbroken flower and leaf bud
How can you tell when a bud has progressed from breaking to opened? The buds below have just opened
The first is a leaf bud, the second is a flower and leaf bud. In both photos you can see the stems of the leaves.
There is also an entry for when flowers are opened. While the bud in the second shot is opened, the flowers are still closed. Everything has opened in the third shot.
Opened Leaf bud
Opened Flower Bud (bud is open, flowers are closed)
Opened flowers
Are the fruits ripe? The criteria for ripe fruits in the Nature's App is that they are red.
The first fruit below is unripe, while the second and third are ripe.
Is the second one ripe? I'm open for all opinions on that one!
Unripe Fruit
Ripe (?) Fruit
Ripe Fruit
Fruits on the branch
The first branch is completely unripe.
The second contains great examples of the stages of ripeness the fruits progress through. The branch has a mix of ripe and unripe fruits.
Fruits progress past red but are still ripe, as seen in the third shot. It has begun to drop fruit as you can see from the empty stems.
The easiest way to tell if a plant has begun to drop it's fruit is to look at the ground underneath it. Sometimes the landscaping crews will have cleared out any fallen fruits and empty stems, combined with overripe fruits on the plant, are a good indication that fruits have begun to drop.
All Unripe
Mixed ripe/unripe
