Common hawthorn

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; flowering and fruiting are best in full sun.

Water

Water regularly while establishing. Established trees tolerate moderate drought but dislike prolonged waterlogging.

Soil

Most well-drained soils, including clay and chalk; tolerates acidic to alkaline conditions.

Height

15-30 ft (4.5-9 m)

Spread

15-25 ft (4.5-7.5 m)

Flowers

Clusters of white, sometimes pink-tinged flowers in late spring, usually May-June in the Northern Hemisphere and October-November in Australia.

Foliage

Small, glossy green leaves with deeply cut lobes; autumn colour is usually yellow, sometimes with orange tones.

Growth

Moderate, often faster as a young hedge on good soil.

Care needed

Medium

• Plant while dormant, provided the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
• Water deeply during dry spells for the first two growing seasons.
• Spread 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of organic mulch over the root area, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Avoid routine feeding on reasonable soil; excess nitrogen encourages soft growth vulnerable to fire blight.
• Stake only if the root ball moves in the wind, and remove the support once the roots hold firmly.
• Wear thick gloves when handling branches, and keep thorny growth away from paths and play areas.

Pruning. Train young trees in winter by removing competing leaders and badly crossing branches; mature trees usually need only dead or damaged wood removed. Trim hedges in late winter before growth starts, checking for active bird nests and leaving some sections uncut each year for flowers and fruit.

Winter

Plant bare-root trees and hedging when soil conditions allow.

Late winter

Carry out formative pruning or hedge trimming before bud break; avoid disturbing active bird nests.

Spring

Renew mulch and check ties on recently planted trees.

Late spring

Check blossom and new shoots for blackening or dieback that could indicate fire blight.

Summer

Water young plants deeply during prolonged dry weather.

Autumn

Leave fruits for birds where appropriate, but remove unwanted seedlings and prevent fruit spread where hawthorn is invasive.

• Use as a clipped boundary hedge where dense, thorny growth provides screening and discourages access.
• Mix into a native hedgerow with hazel and field maple within its native range.
• Grow as a small specimen tree above spring bulbs and shade-tolerant groundcover.
• Use an informal row as a wind-filtering boundary on larger rural plots.

Garden styles it suits: English country, Cottage garden, Wildlife garden, Native hedgerow, Traditional and Woodland.

Plant it with: Hazel, Field maple, Dog rose, Primrose, Snowdrops and Wild strawberry.

Wildlife: Flowers provide pollen and nectar for insects, fruits feed birds, and dense thorny branches offer nesting cover. It supports many leaf-feeding insects within its native range; outside that range, bird-dispersed fruit can help it invade natural habitats.

• Fire blight: blackened blossom and hooked, dying shoots need prompt attention. Cut well below affected tissue into healthy wood during dry weather, disinfect tools between cuts, and avoid heavy nitrogen feeding.
• Leaf spot and rust: remove fallen infected leaves, improve airflow and avoid wetting foliage when watering; recurrent severe disease may justify replacing the tree with a locally resistant alternative.
• Aphids: colonies can curl young leaves. Encourage ladybirds and other predators, or wash accessible shoots with a firm jet of water.
• Powdery mildew: white coating on leaves is most troublesome on stressed plants. Water the root zone during drought and reduce overcrowding.

Hawthorn is not generally considered toxic to cats, dogs or horses, and the ripe fruit flesh is edible for people. The seeds contain cyanogenic compounds: avoid chewing or deliberately eating the kernels, especially in quantity. Thorns are a more common hazard and can cause painful punctures or eye injuries.

Where it spreads. Bird-dispersed seedlings can invade pasture, scrub and woodland. It is invasive in parts of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, southwestern British Columbia in Canada, and southeastern Australia, including parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Legal restrictions vary locally; check before planting.

• Midland hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata)

  Leaves usually have shallower lobes, flowers generally have two or three styles, and fruits contain two or three stones. Common hawthorn usually has one style and one stone; hybrids can be intermediate.

• Black hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii)

  Has broader, shallowly lobed leaves and dark purple-black ripe fruits containing several stones, rather than red fruits with one stone.

• Cockspur hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli)

  Has glossy, largely unlobed leaves and often much longer thorns; common hawthorn has distinctly lobed leaves.

The epithet monogyna means 'one female part', referring to the flower's single style, while hawthorn means a thorny hedge plant.

Propagation. Grow from cleaned seed sown outdoors in autumn, but expect slow, uneven germination, often over two winters. Named cultivars are usually grafted or budded to preserve their characteristics.

Accepted botanical name

Crataegus monogyna

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Alaska, Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Algeria, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Rus, Corse, Cyprus and Czechoslovakia.

Measured

Soil pH 6 to 7.2. Average height 306 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.