Service tree
Sorbus domestica
HighSecondary
Production
A long-lived heritage fruit tree, drought-hardy and dependable, with apple-pear-like fruit you blet before eating. Slow to bear and resents hard pruning — a true plant-for-the-grandkids tree.
Tolerances & traits
- Strata
- High
- Lifecycle
- Secondary
- Soil preference
- Loam, Rocky
- Soil pH range
- 5.5 – 8
- Min. temperature
- -25°C
- Min. rainfall
- 550 mm/year
- Wind tolerance
- Medium
- Frost tolerance
- High
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Irrigation needed
- Low
How to manage it
Long-lived, drought-hardy heritage fruit tree that needs minimal pruning and resents heavy cuts; expect 10-15+ years before first fruiting. A true slow-and-steady investment.
Watch out for
Very slow to establish and to bear fruit (often over a decade); fruit is astringent and must be bletted (softened by frost or storage) before eating.
Design your line to see how your land fits Service tree.
Start designing your line →Related species