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IN THIS guidebook
HAWTHORN GUIDES
Hawthorns are beautiful , deciduous native bush that can make a great addition to many UK garden .
They are specially utilitarian for those who like to attract plenty of wildlife to their gardens and are a great option if you want to further biodiversity where you dwell .
“ My favourite industrial plant would have to be Hawthorn as the harbinger of spring , with its roots in ancient Britain and mythology , ” shares RHS Horticultural Hero Sarah Eberle .
C. monogyna
Overview
PreferredFull Sun or Part Shade
ExposureExposed or shelter
Height4 – 8 M
C. laevigata
Spread4 – 8 G
Bloom TimeMay to June
PreferredMost fertile land
C. tanacetifolia
MoistureMoist but well - drain
pHAny
Hawthorn is a great plant for those who need to choose native plants to support our native wildlife .
The untested leaves are also edible to expend too and the haw can be used in hedgerow preserves , bring in hawthorn a unspoiled pick for a food - producing garden too.1Hawthorn . ( 2021 , May 13 ) . Wild Food UK . Retrieved March 31 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.wildfooduk.com/edible-wild-plants/hawthorn/
Hawthorns are also useful in our garden design .
Darren Lerigofrom the European Boxwood and Topiary Society loves growing Hawthorn as a topiary plant , as its fast - mature nature and beautiful efflorescence habits mean that it is a great native selection .
They make excellent habitat for fowl with their dense and thorny habit , but this also makes them utilitarian for a secure boundary , a sieve or a shelterbelt hedging .
While very pop for employment in hedgerows , they can also make bang-up stand up - alone specimen trees and , since they wo n’t grow too tall , they can be a ripe option for smaller gardens .
Common Varieties
Arguably , the unspoiled type of haw to grow in the UK isCrataegus monogyna , our native hawthorn and the focus of this guide .
There are , however , also many other species within the same genus that can also be interesting option for a UK garden .
C. laevigata , C. tanacetifolia , C. persimilis , C. schraderiana and C. viridisare all proficient choices .
Even once you have adjudicate which hawthorn coinage to grow , you will involve to consider whether a named cultivar will be right for you , as there are a number to take from .
There are cultivars that grow into with child tree diagram , small tree or even dwarf types that rise into pocket-size Tree or shrubs .
Selecting the right cultivar and mintage for your particular garden can help become your mean use for the plant .
How To Grow Hawthorn
Hawthorn is a plant that is comparatively unfussy about its location and can line up an appropriate place in many different garden .
Hawthorn can be grown in full Sunday or partial tad and in an exposed or sheltered location .
They are relatively easy to find a place for in many garden , whether you are creating a hedging or hedgerow , or finding a place for a place upright - alone tree .
When it comes to the land too , haw has very few very firm requirements .
It will grow well in a wide range of dissimilar territory types as long as it does not become waterlogged .
It should be moist but gratis - draining or loose - draining for the salutary results .
C. laevigata‘Crimson Cloud’
If you have heavy Lucius DuBignon Clay filth , it is suitable for growing hawthorn but it should be amended with good deal of organic matter before planting .
Hawthorn is fine with a range of pH levels too , doing well in most soils whether they are acidic , alkaline or neutral .
Planting Guidelines
Hawthorn trees or shrubs can be purchased as bare root plant or in pots .
select mere root specimens is typically the best policy when planting haw in your garden or in hedging on your property .
It is not only somewhat more low-cost but also typically leads to plants establishing more successfully and promptly .
Hawthorns are best planted out during the dormant period between November and March , whether you choose unornamented - root word plants or not .
While plants in pots are available throughout the yr , these may not shew as well when set out in summer .
When planting hawthorn , as when institute other trees or bush , first make certain that you have prepared the area , adding constitutional topic and clearing any persistent weeds .
Next , dig your planting hole .
Be trusted to make this the same deepness as the existing antecedent formal and at least twice as wide .
In some shell , it may be beneficial to add mycorrhizal kingdom Fungi to the planting hole when institute haw , as it can be when planting other tree and shrubs.2Mycorrhizal kingdom Fungi . ( n.d.-b ) . Royal Horticultural Society . recover March 31 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/mycorrhizal-fungi
Place the hawthorn plant life into the hole , pass around out the root word within it , then meet the ground back in around the root and firm it into place .
Water in your new haw , then mulch around the infrastructure of the plant with organic mulch , but take care not to mound it around the base of the trunk or stems .
Growing As Hedging
When raise as hedge , hawthorn is typically plant at quite a wide spatial arrangement , around 80 - 100 centimeter between plant .
It is often used in miscellaneous hedgerows , with other native species intersperse .
This is a great idea because it supercharge biodiversity and attracts an even wider range of native wildlife than just using haw on its own .
Hawthorn Plant Care
Hawthorn can in spades be a enceinte low - maintenance plant for a UK garden , generally requiring little charge .
However , this will only be true if you opt a suitable speckle to produce this works in the first topographic point and furnish it with the right care during the establishment phase .
Hawthorn , as mentioned above , is not too fussy about how much sun it receives .
It can do well in full Sunday or in dappled or fond shade .
The only spots to debar are those that are too deeply shaded , as hawthorn will not flower or fruit as well where there is deeper shade .
Hawthorn should be watered well upon planting and it is of import to keep watering regularly during dry spells as the plant establish itself in your garden .
Once it is well rooted and has established well , in most areas instinctive rainfall will be sufficient for your haw and you will not have to piddle any longer , except for during the most serious of droughts .
The only exception to this is where you are growing hawthorn in a container , in which case you will involve to irrigate regularly to control that you keep your hawthorn happy and healthy .
Hawthorns growing in the undercoat will require jolly fertile and good for you soil , but will not typically ask additional feeding where the dirt is adequate .
However , if the growth seems poor during establishment , you may tally a general - function organic fertiliser such as blood , fish and bone around the plants in early spring to boost their outgrowth .
This should not continue once the hawthorn is well set up .
Hawthorn does not lean to be particularly prostrate to problem , but it can get a phone number of fungous infection or fall prey to sure pestis like deer and coney , caterpillars and aphid on affair .
Encourage innate biodiversity in your garden and this will help to keep pest populations under control through lifelike predation .
“ One of the notable problem hawthorns can get from is fireblight , which is a bacterial disease ( Erwinia amylovora ) that in the main affects penis of the Rosaceae family , ” partake in Master Horticulturist Dan Ori .
“ flora that can be affected include orchard apple tree and Pyrus communis which is why it is often avoided as a hedgerow specie in grove . ”
