Hawthorn trees

Hawthorns are a diverse range of hardy deciduous trees with attractive blossom and fruitlets.

• Big Golden Star

  An attractive hawthorn, with large red fruits, and usually thornless.

  £71.95buy

  • Flowering month: May
  • Height after 10 years: 2.5m-3.5m / 8ft-12ft
  • Fruit colour: Red
  Crataegus pinnatifida

• Crataegus arnoldiana

  

  An attractive small hawthorn with masses of white blossom and large edible fruitlets.

  £71.95buy

  • Flowering month: May
  • Flower colour: White
  • Height after 10 years: 2.5m-3.5m / 8ft-12ft
  • Fruit colour: Orange / Red
  Crataegus arnoldiana

• Crataegus monogyna

  A hardy native hawthorn species, with white blossom and red haws, and particularly attractive to bees.

  • Flowering month: May
  • Flower colour: White
  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Fruit colour: Red - dark
  Crataegus monogyna

• Crataegus schraderiana

  This small hawthorn from south-eastern Europe features white flowers and large red edible fruits.

  £71.95buy

  • Flowering month: May
  • Flower colour: White
  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Fruit colour: Crimson
  • Fruit colour: Red - dark
  Crataegus schraderiana

• Crimson Cloud

  

  Crimson Cloud has dark red flowers with white centres.

  £71.95buy

  • Flowering month: May
  • Flower colour: Red - dark
  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Fruit colour: Red
  Crataegus laevigata

• Glastonbury Thorn

  The Glastonbury Thorn, Crataegus Biflora, is a form of the common hawthorn found in the area around Glastonbury, reputed to have been planted by Joseph of Arimathea.

  • Flowering month: January
  • Flowering month: April
  • Flowering month: December
  • Flower colour: Cream
  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Fruit colour: Red - dark
  Crataegus monogyna

• Jubilee

  Jubilee features dense white flowers in spring and red berries in the autumn.

  £44.50 - £71.95buy

  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  Crataegus succulenta

• Paul's Scarlet

  

  A popular small hawthorn with distinctive dark pink blossom with white centres.

  £44.50 - £71.95buyBest seller

  • Flowering month: May
  • Flower colour: Pink - dark
  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Fruit colour: Red
  • Awards: RHS AGM (current)
  Crataegus laevigata

• Plena

  

  A compact hawthorn which features double white flowers.

  £44.50 - £71.95buy

  • Flowering month: May
  • Flower colour: White
  • Height after 10 years: 2.5m-3.5m / 8ft-12ft
  Crataegus laevigata

• Prunifolia Splendens

  Prunifolia Splendens is one of the best hawthorns for autumn colour and persistent red fruits.

  • Flowering month: May
  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Fruit colour: Orange / Red
  Crataegus persimilis

• Rosea Flore Pleno

  

  A popular ornamental hawthorn, featuring pink double flowers with cream centres.

  £44.50 - £71.95buyBest seller

  • Flowering month: May
  • Flower colour: Pink
  • Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Awards: RHS AGM (current)
  Crataegus laevigata

How to choose Hawthorn trees

Hawthorns form the genus Crataegus, and are a diverse range of hardy trees, adaptable to many situations - including urban and coastal planting. All have excellent spring blossom displays, and most have attractive autumn fruitlet colours.

Hawthorns flower very late in the spring, usually in May. Hawthorn blossom is usually unscented, or has a very mild scent.

Hawthorns are particularly useful for encouraging wildlife - the flowers attract bees, the leaves support moth caterpillars, and the autumn berries are useful for birds . Some varieties have edible fruitlets suitable for human consumption - used for fruit jellies.

If you have rabbits in the vicinity be sure to protect the trees, as rabbits like to eat young hawthorn bark.

If planting 1-year bare-root hawthorns, cut the main stem at about 1.3m - 1.75m to stimulate side shoots the following year. Pot-grown trees have already had this formative training at the nursery and do not need pruning.