Service tree

Service tree: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Broad, rounded crown; 10–15 m tall and 8–10 m wide. Slow-growing.

Leaves

Pinnate, about 15–25 cm long, with 11–21 toothed leaflets; dark green above, felted beneath.

Flowers

White to cream flowers in panicles 10–15 cm long in May.

Fruit

Pear- or apple-shaped, 2–3 cm, yellow-green with a red cheek. Only edible once brown and soft after picking.

Bark

On old trees dark brown, deeply furrowed and scaly, like a pear.

Flowering: May · Harvest and fruit: September–October · Plants: March–April and October–December · Pruning: January–February

Why grow it?

• Abundant flowering in May: white flower clusters that attract bees.
• Edible fruit for jelly, juice or compote, once it has turned properly soft and brown.
• Fruit and foliage also feed and shelter birds and insects.
• Becomes very old and is robust: a tree for generations, tolerant of drought and lime.
• Handsome autumn colour from yellow to red-orange and deeply furrowed bark on old trees.

Service tree: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: it likes warm, sheltered spots.
• Sand, loam or clay, neutral to chalky and well drained.
• Dry to moderately moist: it is quite drought-tolerant, but not of soil that is wet for long periods.
• Allow 8–10 m of space: the crown becomes wide.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

15 m tall, 10 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Lavender: Likes the same warm, dry, chalky spot and attracts bees.
• Medlar: Another fruit tree whose fruit only becomes edible after picking.
• Hawthorn: A native shrub with flowers for insects and berries for birds.
• Cornelian cherry: Flowers in February–March, likes lime and gives birds fruit.
• Crocus: Naturalises in the grass under the tree and flowers early.

Service tree: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–December.

1. Plant from October to December or in March–April, when the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
2. Choose a young tree: the taproot transplants badly.
3. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and just as deep. Loosen the sides.
4. Plant at the same depth as in the nursery, backfill with the soil you dug out and mix in some compost. Add a stake and tie loosely.
5. Water in at once with 15–20 litres.
6. Spread a 5–8 cm layer of compost or bark around the base, keeping it clear of the trunk.

Care

Water

For the first two years, 10–15 litres a week in dry spells. After that it usually looks after itself.

Feeding

Usually not needed. Avoid too much nitrogen: it produces soft shoots that are more susceptible to fire blight.

Mulching

A mulch in spring keeps the soil moist. Keep the circle free of grass.

Support

A stake for the first 2–3 years; remove it afterwards.

Harvest

Pick the fruit in October when it is yellow-brown. Leave it for a few more weeks in a cool, dry place until soft and brown (like medlars). You can then make jelly, juice or compote.

Tip: Only pick the fruit when it is yellow-brown and then let it soften for a few weeks in a cool, dry place: only then does it taste good. Be patient, because trees grown from seed only fruit after many years.

Service tree: when to prune it?

Pruning months: January–February.

When: Hardly necessary. Prune in January–February, in dry, frost-free weather.

How:

• In the early years, build up a single trunk and an open crown with a few main branches.
• Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches, and suckers at the base.
• Clean your pruning tools with alcohol, especially after cutting out diseased branches.

Caution: Do not prune in summer or in damp weather: the bacterium that causes fire blight then spreads easily through pruning wounds.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Remove the flesh and sow the pips in October in a tray that you leave outdoors over winter. They germinate in spring, sometimes only after a year. A tree grown from seed often takes more than ten years to fruit.

Grafting

Nurseries graft selections onto a rootstock. Grafted trees fruit earlier. This is not a garden job.

Service tree: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Fully hardy to about −25 °C: no protection needed.
• A layer of mulch around the base protects the roots of young trees during hard frosts.
• Leave some of the fruit on the tree for the birds.

Diseases and pests

• Fire blight: Twigs and flowers suddenly wither, turn brown to black and the tip bends like a shepherd’s crook; the leaves stay hanging as if scorched. In dry weather cut 30–50 cm below the affected part into healthy wood and clean your secateurs. Do not compost the waste. If in doubt, ask a tree surgeon for advice.
• Aphids: Curled leaves and sticky shoots in May–June. Wash them off with water; ladybirds usually deal with them.
• Fruit rot: Brown, soft fruit with pale rings of mould, especially in wet weather. Clear away affected and shrivelled fruit (mummies) and pick in good time.
• Little or no fruit: Trees grown from seed often take more than ten years to fruit. Cold weather during flowering reduces fruit set. Patience and a bee-friendly garden help.

Through the year

• January: Prune in dry, frost-free weather.
• February: Last chance to prune. Check stakes.
• March: Plant. Give a thin layer of compost.
• April: Plant. Mulch.
• May: White flower clusters; bees. Watch for fire blight.
• June: Watch for aphids. Water in dry weather.
• July: Water in dry weather.
• August: Water in dry weather.
• September: The fruit turns yellow-brown.
• October: Pick the fruit and let it ripen. Plant. Autumn colour yellow to red-orange.
• November: Plant. Let the fruit ripen in a cool place.
• December: Plant. Clear fallen leaves and shrivelled fruit.

Edible and useful

Fruit (September–October)

The small pear- or apple-shaped fruits, 2 to 4 cm long, fall in September–October. Fresh from the tree they are hard and astringent; let them blet indoors on straw or a dish for a few weeks until they are brown, soft and sweet, like medlars. Then you can scoop out the flesh, make a purée or brew a cider (called cormé in France).

Storing

Let the fruits blet in a single layer somewhere cool and airy and check them regularly. Bletted fruits keep for a week; frozen as purée, six months.

Caution: Only eat the fruits bletted: fresh, they are very astringent because of tannins. Do not crack the pips. The service tree is rare in the wild and grows into a large, slow tree (up to 15 m): plant it for future generations in a large garden or orchard.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Service tree fruit purée (Compote · ± 3 portions · 20 min + bletting)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• In Germany it is called Speierling: in Hesse the fruit is traditionally used in making apple wine.
• It can live for several hundred years and has exceptionally hard, heavy wood.
• It has been grown as a fruit tree since antiquity, hence the species name domestica, ‘of the house’.