Sorbus domestica seed

LATIN NAME: SORBUS DOMESTICA

COMMON NAME: Service Tree

The service tree rouges the broad, rounded crown with the pinnate, ash-like leaves and the flat clusters of the white flowers that open in the late spring, the small, apple-shaped fruits following and ripening to the russet and the brown through the autumn. The fruits soften after the frost, and they carry the rich, spicy-sweet taste. The tree grows into the sturdy, long-lived tree of the warm lowlands, and it stands the heat and the dry spells well. It likes the sun, and the deep, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

In the rose family, the service tree holds a long, old-orchard record in the fruit research, and the species appears in the studies of the aromatic fruits and the warm, dry summers. The research covers the fruit chemistry and the seed biology, along with the way the tree lives for the ages, while the food scientists value the spicy-sweet fruits. The horticulturists note the long-lived habit, and the collectors of the old orchard trees keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the warm, dry garden, the service tree gives the fruit and the timber both. The white blossom opens in the late spring, the russet fruits soften after the frost for the table, the preserves and the drinks, and they feed the birds through the late season. The fine-grained wood serves the furniture and the carving. Old, generous and long-lived.

To grow the Service Tree from seed,

Stratify the seeds in the damp, peaty sand of the cold frame

Keep the sand barely moist, and check the tray now and then for the first green tips. Once the seedlings show, move the frame into the brighter light.

, then keep the frame cool through the winter. The seedlings appear in the spring, and they grow on steadily. Plant the young trees in the sunny, deep, well-drained ground, and the russet fruits will rouge the autumn over the years.