Not really. Plants- and especially trees - will grow according to their own schedules, not ours. As our forum friend Ken would say, you need to think in "tree time". ;-)) And since serviceberries never grow into very large trees anyway, the annual growth rate will be correspondingly slower than something larger.

Patience - it will get there.

OMG>>> did the world just end ... lol ... she called me friend .... rotflmbo ...

i agree.. with myself???... you have high expectations for a one season plant ...

that said ... you can not change genetics thru pruning ... i.e.... make it grow faster by cutting parts off ...

also ... try not to compare the growth rate in z4.. with what you might see in warmer climes.. with a 3 or 4 month longer growing season ... thats one down side to too much info from the web ...

ken

Thanks guys! I know, I know....be patient! But here is my thinking...just for giggles.
Although one cannot "change genetics thru pruning", one can promote vigor and/or promote directional growth. Right?

See my previous comment.

Thanks Embothrium! Glad to know my rationale holds some validity.

Yes, the tree is mulched and received morning sun.
The berries are buckshot size, so, as you said, it probably wouldn't be beneficial to drop them at this point.

I appreciate the response!

If they've been in the ground for two year, removing any fruit is not going to help them grow any faster at this point ;-) That recommendation is usually limited to their first year after planting, as the roots are establishing.

Any specimen that has not yet reached the desired size may make an added amount of top growth if fruiting is prevented from occurring for the entire time up to that point.

However many years it takes.

With high-bush blueberry cultivars for instance, which presumably fruit more heavily than is normal for the wild species recommendations to prevent fruiting for 3-5 years seem to be fairly usual. It can often be seen looking at small examples that are not being stripped of fruits while these are first developing that growth of their tops is significantly limited by how much fruiting they are doing while still dinky.

The key point with your situation is if the plants are likewise trying to load up with fruit each time, now or later. If instead only a tiny portion of their entire top consists of fruit clusters then probably whether these stay or go is probably comparatively inconsequential.

Thank you for this thorough explanation. You're speaking my language.

I come form a viticulture background so we "drop fruit" and prune for quality and for vigor. And given my short growing season (4b), this training has served me well:)

My entire bush is berrying- not just a small portion, so I think that I'll drop the fruit and just see what happens. Yet another garden experiment. Thanks Again!

grapevinegal, I am in zone 4a and am considering this same Serviceberry Standing Ovation now! How has yours done for you? Your post was 8 years ago - how tall is it now and any chance of a photo please? Thanks!