Midland hawthorn

Sun

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

Water

Water regularly while establishing. Established trees tolerate short dry spells but perform best with moderate soil moisture.

Soil

Moist but well-drained soil, including clay and chalk; tolerates acidic to alkaline conditions. Avoid persistently waterlogged ground.

Height

15-25 ft (4.5-7.5 m)

Spread

15-25 ft (4.5-7.5 m)

Flowers

White, sometimes pink-tinged flowers in clusters in mid- to late spring; named cultivars may have pink or red, often double flowers.

Foliage

Small, glossy green leaves with shallow rounded lobes; usually yellow or yellow-brown in autumn.

Growth

Moderate

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

4. After 3 years

   9 ft (2.6 m)

5. After 5 years

   10 ft (3 m)

About 20 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Native to

the UK

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant during the dormant season when the ground is workable, keeping the root flare at soil level.
• Water deeply during dry spells for the first two growing seasons; let the surface soil begin to dry between waterings.
• Spread 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of organic mulch over the root area, leaving a clear gap around the trunk.
• Avoid routine high-nitrogen feeding, which encourages soft growth susceptible to fire blight.
• Stake only if the root ball moves in the wind, and remove supports once the tree is firmly rooted.
• Wear thick gloves when working among the thorny branches.

Pruning. Prune lightly in late winter, removing dead, crossing or badly placed branches and retaining a balanced framework. Trim hedges after flowering if necessary, accepting fewer fruits, and check for active bird nests before cutting.

Late winter

Remove dead or crossing branches in dry weather; avoid heavy pruning.

Early spring

Renew mulch, keep it away from the trunk and check any tree ties.

Late spring

Watch for blackened blossom and shoot tips that may indicate fire blight.

Summer

Water young trees deeply during dry spells and inspect leaves for rust or leaf spots.

Autumn

Leave fruits for birds and collect heavily diseased fallen leaves.

Late autumn

Plant bare-root trees where the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged.

• Grow as a small specimen tree in a lawn or mixed border, allowing room for its rounded crown.
• Include in a mixed boundary hedge with hazel, holly and dogwood for shelter and seasonal interest.
• Plant at a woodland edge above shade-tolerant bulbs and groundcover.
• Use white-flowered forms beside spring bulbs and informal perennial planting in a country garden, away from narrow paths where thorns could catch passers-by.

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

Plant it with: Common hazel, English holly, Common dogwood, Snowdrops, Wild primrose and Hardy geraniums.

Wildlife: Single flowers provide pollen and nectar for insects, while the foliage supports caterpillars and other invertebrates. Birds eat the fruits and use the dense, thorny branches for nesting and shelter. Double-flowered cultivars generally offer less accessible pollen and nectar and may set little fruit.

• Fire blight: blossom and shoots blacken and may curl at the tips. Remove affected growth well below visible damage during dry weather, disinfect tools between cuts and avoid high-nitrogen fertilizer.
• Hawthorn leaf blight and leaf spots: leaves develop spots and may fall early. Collect fallen leaves, improve airflow and avoid wetting the foliage when watering.
• Rust diseases: orange spots or distorted fruits can develop, especially where susceptible junipers grow nearby. Remove badly affected growth and seek locally appropriate resistant replacements if damage recurs.
• Aphids: colonies can curl young leaves and leave sticky honeydew. Encourage natural predators or wash small infestations off with water; avoid spraying open flowers.

The fruit flesh, leaves and flowers are not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. Seeds contain cyanogenic compounds and should not be chewed or crushed for eating; substantial ingestion of crushed seeds could cause poisoning. The sharp thorns can cause puncture wounds.

• Common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

  Usually has more deeply divided leaves, one style per flower and one hard stone per fruit. Midland hawthorn usually has shallower leaf lobes, two or three styles and two or three stones.

• Hybrid hawthorn (Crataegus × media)

  This hybrid between Midland and common hawthorn has intermediate, variable leaf lobing and style numbers. Reliable identification may require examining several flowers and fruits; leaves alone are often inconclusive.

Crataegus comes from a Greek name associated with strength, referring to the hard wood, while laevigata means smooth or polished.

Propagation. Grow the species from cleaned seed sown outdoors in autumn; germination is slow and may take two springs because the seed needs successive warm and cold periods. Seedlings vary, especially where other hawthorns grow nearby. Named cultivars are usually propagated by budding or grafting.

Accepted botanical name

Crataegus laevigata

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Central European Rus, Corse, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain and Hungary.

Measured

Average height 800 cm.

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