Professional Documents
Culture Documents
gardeningchannel.com /how-to-grow-hawthorn-trees/
Hawthorn trees (Crataegus) are small, versatile trees that make good substitutes for other more
commonly grown trees, such as crabapples. Native to the United States, hawthorn trees can be found
growing wild in rural areas or planted as informal hedgerows.
Hawthorn trees also have a long history in Britain, where they figure largely in many old folk tales. The
flowers were sometimes used for decorating outdoor garlands, but it was taboo to bring them indoors,
because they supposedly brought death and bad luck. The flowers were said to smell like the Great
Plague of London.
The trees typically have a rounded, dense habit or an upright habit, depending on the cultivar, and
grow 15 to 25 feet tall. Theyre covered with red, white or pink blossoms in the spring, followed by
attractive, small fruits that persist through most of the winter. Hawthorn trees tolerate a wide variety of
soil conditions, including drought, clay and alkaline soils, and they tolerate compaction and street
pollution, making them suitable for urban areas. The main drawback to hawthorns is their thorns, which
can grow 3 inches long. Avoid planting them where children play or in main entryways.
Related