Tree: white hawthorne
Age: Approx 10yrs old
Height: Approx 12+ inches
Level: Beginner
About this tree:
Flowers white twice a year. Water 2-3x per week
The hawthorne is native to the Mediterranean region including north Africa and all of Europe and central Asia, and now grows in many areas of North America. It is a tree that rapidly changes due to hybridizing, which causes it to appear in more than a thousand different species. Most of these are very difficult to tell apart and even professional foresters place them into a group and do not try to determine the exact species. Some of the more interesting, useful and common hawthorns are reflected below. Prior to planting a hawthorne in your area, check the species and note your hardiness zone before purchasing. Although hawthorne is hardy, the hardiness range is diverse depending on the species.
Crateaegus will grow in most soils, including alkaline, in sun or partial shade. Hawthorne does not have a large root system and doesn't drain the soil of nutrients. They can live for over 400 years and have the capacity to flower twice a year, though this obviously depends on weather conditions. The alternate, simple, strongly veined, toothed leaves have deep or shallow lobes and vary radically from species to species. Most species of the hawthorne have very prominent, long, straight, sharp thorns, ranging from 1 to 5 inches in length. There are only a few species without thorns.
The flowers of the hawthorne are interspersed with the newly opened leaves and look like tiny white balls. When they open they have five snow-white petals set around slender stamens with bright pink heads. When in bloom, the hawthorne is weighted down and has a rich scent that permeates. Hawthorne blossoms contain both male and female parts and are fertilized by insects crawling over them.
On the back of each hawthorne flower are five green, star-like sepals. Below this the stalk looks slightly swollen, for it contains the seed, which by summer grows into a small green berry. By fall they have grown and ripened into a shiny red berry, hanging on long-stalked bunches. Birds, mice and other creatures love to eat them and help propagation by dropping the seeds wherever they go.
The C. laevigata flowers and fruits better in an open, sunny position. C. laevigata is also known as English Hawthorn |
