Sunday, January 5, 2020

Plant of the Month (January) : Midland (English) Hawthorn – Crateagus laevigata


'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: in full bloom
Mother Nature's Montrose Garden, Montrose CO



For the past few months we’ve featured non-native fruiting shrubs and trees chosen by the previous gardener.  These ‘Legacy Plants’ are mature, provide food and are important habitat plants. For those reasons, we’ve chosen to retain them, even though we’re transitioning to more native plants.  For more on Legacy Plants see: https://mothernaturesmontrosegarden.blogspot.com/2019/08/creating-your-colorado-friendly-garden.html

This month we focus on a non-native tree, Crateagus laevigata (pronounced krah-TEE-gus  lee-vih-GAY-tuh). The Midland hawthorn (also known as English or Woodland hawthorn, or Mayflower) is native to western and central Europe, from Great Britain and Spain east to the Czech Republic and Hungary.  In England, it is largely confined to the lowland ancient woodlands.

The hawthorns, genus Crateagus (in the Rose family), are a group of several hundred species native to temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere.   Almost all are shrubs or small trees and most are notable for their thorns – modified branch tips that are stout and sharp.  The hawthorns produce small fruits which can be made into jams, jellies, juices, alcoholic beverages, and other drinks.  The young leaves are sometimes eaten fresh and many species have a history of medicinal uses.

Hawthorn fruits make juice, jelly, beverages and syrup


Four species of Hawthorn are native to Western Colorado [1]. These are Crateagus macrocantha var. occidentales, C. erythropoda, C. saligna and C. rivularis.  Of these C. rivularis, the River hawthorn, is the most common.  This species grows in the intermountain states from Canada to the Four Corners states and Texas.  A nice shrub/small tree, the River hawthorn has edible fruits and is very hardy.  It also has formidable thorns, and is almost never available in the nursery trade.  We’ve tried to grow it ourselves from seed – thus far with no success. 

Since native hawthorns are difficult to procure, most gardeners grow either Crateagus laevigata (and its cultivars), Crateagus monogyna (Common hawthorn) or hybrids between the two. Crateagus laevigata differs from Crateagus monogyna, in several ways. The leaves are more shallowly lobed and, more importantly, each flower has more than one style (and hence, more than one seed per fruit).  Of the two, C. laevigata or it’s hybrids are more widely used in U.S. gardens.

Two cultivars of Midland hawthorn are readily available in the U.S.   ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ hawthorn is a showy tree, 15-20 ft. (4.5-6 m.) tall with bright magenta blooms.  Unfortunately, this cultivar is more susceptible to a variety of pests that can cause summer defoliation: Aphids, Beetle Borers, Scales and Spider Mites, Fire Blight, Armillaria, Powdery Mildew, Root Rot, Rust and Sooty Mold.

‘Crimson Cloud’ hawthorn cultivar is resistant to the leaf blight that can be the bane of ‘Paul’s Scarlet’.  It is similar in size, shape and other characteristics – including the showy spring flowers and edible fruit.  It is grown – and loved - in gardens throughout the U.S.   We are fortunate to have inherited a mature specimen.

'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: growth habit


Our ‘Crimson Cloud’ Midland Hawthorn is currently the largest tree in our front yard.  Mature size is 20-25 ft. (6-7.5 m) tall and about 15-20 ft. (4.5-6 m.) wide. This cultivar usually grows as a single tree, but sometimes spreads by suckers to form a clump.  The growth form is upright and rounded, though the form can be somewhat erratic.  In fact, you can deduce the common wind direction from the form of our hawthorn.  This cultivar is said to be thornless; ours has a few tip thorns, but nothing like the natives.


'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: foliage


Crateagus laevigata (and its cultivars) have gray-brown bark and medium- to dark-green foliage.  The foliage is dense, making this a good small shade tree (even in winter).  The glossy leaves are alternate, lobed with crenulated edges.  The foliage – and the tree itself – are handsome in leaf.  The tree is only moderately so when deciduous (in winter).  And fall leaf color is not notable.


'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: winter
'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: flowering plant


Midland hawthorns really shine in spring, when they are covered in pink blossoms. In our area, this plant blooms in late April or May, depending on the temperatures. The flowers are bright magenta/pink with white centers and scented.  The flowers attract lots of bee pollinators; you can literally hear the buzzing when you approach a blooming hawthorn. 


'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: fruits are pomes


The flowers are followed by small (1/4-1/2 inch) fruits, which ripen slowly and are ready for eating after a few good frosts.  The fruits look like tiny apples (they, like apples, are pomes) and are dark red to black when ripe.  We pick the fruits for making jelly and syrup, although there are many other uses.   The fruits remain showy into late fall and even winter (below).


'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: note fruits
 remaining on tree in winter



Birds also eat the fruit.  While they don’t seem to be a bird’s first choice, the remaining fruits are eagerly eaten all winter.  This makes hawthorn a good year-round bird habitat plant.  The dense foliage and size make it a choice tree for nesting and cover. We’ve had both Blackbirds and Robins nest in ours. And the fruits provide important nourishment when other foods are scarce.

The Midland hawthorn and cultivars are easy to grow and widely available.  They are hardy from USDA Hardiness Zone 4 or 5 to 8.  We’ve even seen ‘Crimson Cloud’ growing in Zone 10 regions of S. California!  The plant is quite adaptable in the types of soils it accepts: clay soils are fine, and the pH range is reported to be wide.  ‘Crimson Cloud’ certainly thrives in soils with pH around 8.0 in Western Colorado.

Hawthorns like full sun best, but will tolerate a little shade (fruiting may be decreased in shadier locations).  They also need semi-regular water; probably best with at least a weekly deep watering during dry periods western U.S.   It will not tolerate standing water.  We don’t prune ours much.  Just remove old, unhealthy or crossing branches, those that detract from the shape, and the water-sprouts.  

In our dry climate we have not experienced much trouble with pests or diseases. ‘Crimson Cloud’ is resistant to leaf spot diseases, but since hawthorns are in the Rose family, one should examine plants for fungal diseases, fire blight, scales and spider mites, particularly in warm, damp weather.


'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: specimen tree


The English hawthorns make lovely garden trees, even in smaller gardens.  They provide shade year-round. Their small size makes them appropriate for street trees and under power lines.  In Europe, they are commonly used in hedgerows and screens.  In the U.S., they are more often used as specimen plants.   They can be trained for espalier (or even bonsai) and are sometimes grown for their fruits.

Hawthorns are important bird habitat plants, and should be considered for this reason alone. They have a long history of use as medicinal plants (see references 2-4). They are easy-care and likely have a long life, even in gardens. They are moderately hardy to urban air pollution.  And they are an attractive, edible alternative to other non-native trees planted in the Four Corners states. 


'Crimson Cloud' Hawthorn: juice from fruits


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  1. Weber, WA & Wittman RC. Colorado Flora – Western Slope, 4th ed. 2012, University Press of Colorado
  2. https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Crataegus+laevigata
  3. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-527/hawthorn
  4. https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/kbase/topic.jhtml?docId=hn-2106005





For more pictures of this plant see:

For plant information sheets on western native plants see: http://nativeplantscsudh.blogspot.com/p/gallery-of-native-plants_17.html



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We welcome your comments (below).  You can also send your questions to: monaturesmontrosegarden@gmail.com


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