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denidill

Do you have a Hawthorn tree?

denidill
19 years ago

Hi Everyone,

I am researching for a tree to put in my backyard. I recently took out a Mayday, but would like something a little smaller. Has anyone had some success with a Toba Hawthorn and a Snowbird Hawthorn?

Denise

Calgary

Comments (24)

  • Konrad___far_north
    19 years ago

    It's what I would like too!
    I'm waiting for the SALE!

    If you have a chance, to see Lois Hole's Tree & Shrub book, there is a nice pic of a toba tree in there.
    Konrad

  • western_meadowlark
    19 years ago

    I would like a Hawthorn also, but haven't found much info on them. I'm mostly concerned about diseases. We lost all of our elms to disease and I don't want to go though that again, with the tree removal expense and such. I'm in zone 4. I'm going to look at the nurseries this spring.

  • luv2gro
    19 years ago

    We planted a Crimson Cloud Hawthorn last summer. It looked a bit stressed by fall and didn't drop its leaves for winter. I was a bit concerned about fireblight, but I'll wait to see what it does in the spring. We got it at a nursery that, I think, has gone under. (I saw that they had an auction in Nov. or Oct.) So if it dies, I don't think I'll have any recourse for replacement. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes. Keep your fingers crossed for my baby tree(s).

    The hawthorn is definitely a beautiful tree, though.

    Shauna

  • stargazer5b
    19 years ago

    We've had a Hawthorn tree now for 6 or 7 years...and love it. Seems to be a slow grower, but blossoms out nicely and then the fruit is very colourful. Would definitely recommend it - especially for the birds (which is why we bought it).

  • hollandgirlt
    18 years ago

    I got talked into a Hawthorne about 10 years ago. It was an unremarkable spindley little thing that didn't do much. That was until I offered it to my little sister one autumn for her new yard. Sis didn't get around digging it up and the next spring the Hawthorne transformed itself into this wonderful, graceful beauty. Needless to say, I rescinded my offer :-) and after that we joked that threatening to give it away was what got it to transform itself.

    The first few years, we had some problems with aphids and then I read that you shouldn't plant them near honeysuckles because of that, which, of course I had.

    I would highly recommend them. Great shape, pretty white blossoms every other year. Attracts birds-- once had a whole flock of cedar waxwings in it!

  • luv2gro
    18 years ago

    Just an update on our Crimson Cloud. It doesn't seem to have got fireblight (thanks to the Garden Gods) and it is starting to fill in quite nicely this year. It even blossomed a bit and has some berries on it. Looks like it is going to make it. It's going to be a very nice tree.

    Shauna

  • jonsk
    18 years ago

    A few years ago the City of Saskatoon, who plant a varied and growing selection of trees on city property (boulevards and the like), added Snowbird hawthorns to the list. There are a number planted just down the block from me, which have thrived, and put on a great show at flowering time. Although your climate is a bit more unstable than ours, if they can do well here, it's probably worth a shot there!

    Jon

    Here is a link that might be useful: City of Saskatoon Urban Forestry

  • Fledgeling_
    18 years ago

    Im going to grow the canadian selection 'homestead' with pale yellow flowers and lage (for hawthorn) edible fruits that make a great fall display.

  • giulial
    15 years ago

    We have a Washington Hawthorn tree that is 15 years old and the most awesome tree I've ever owned. Disease resistant, drought tolerant, and adaptive to soils. I've grown to love it over the past 15 years - it feels like a part of the family and what a gorgeous year-round show it gives us ever year.

  • beegood_gw
    15 years ago

    I have a wild Hawthorn but am thinking maybe I will buy one as well.It's just that they come in such huge pots ( I have a small car ) plus then I have to dig this great big hole which gets tiring too at my age.I always look for smallish trees in small pots. Cheaper ,easier to get home and I can dig the holes with out going into cardiac arrest.

  • marricgardens
    15 years ago

    I have Toba and one called Scarlet. Both are doing very well, however Toba does send up suckers every year. Marg

  • wannab
    15 years ago

    We are in Mi U.P. like z4a. We have a few of the Hawthorn trees on our property. They are the Snow Bird Hawthorn. Can become invasive after a few years. They are pretty tough trees, and stand -40 degree weather. Bloom heavily in spring, followed by berries that the birds love. Some of our trees have red berries and others have yellow, even tho they all came from the one original tree. We have a 10 acre wood lot at the back of our property, and a grove of the Hawthorns have established themselves along the edge of the maple forrest. All came from our originally planted tree.

  • aprilwine
    15 years ago

    I have a huge MayDay tree in my zone 3b front yard, too big really, and we are constantly battling black knot, which will win in the end.
    In the backyard we have a gorgeous Toba Hawthorne, currently in full pink bloom. Toba blooms first white, and then the bloom clusters change to pink. Very pretty indeed. We planted it about 8 years ago and we have had no suckering from this tree, stress causes suckering. We have been lucky in that this particular tree has no thorns, and the fruit is not nearly as messy on the ground as the Mayday or ornamental crabapples. The Toba Hawthorne maintains a nice shape without a lot of pruning, and is a favourite of the ring-necked pheasant which visits in the fall, walking along the top of the fence to eat the hawthorne berries within reach. I would definitely recommend this modest sized ornamental tree. I would recommend winter wrapping of a newly planted tree's trunk over the first and second winter.

  • jamesbutt
    15 years ago

    We have 5 toba hawthorns about 10 years old near the coast in NS which have had trouble rooting until we diverted water run-off from a hill. This Spring we noted branches tearing off two trees which were in full bloom. Two whole trees seem to be dying from the top down. My landscaper says she has never seen anything like it.

  • myskyblue2
    14 years ago

    How big do the "Hawthorn's" get?

  • poutmouse
    14 years ago

    I have hundreds!I would give them to anyone who wanted them. I'm not sure about the ones you're looking for but I believe they all have thorns and let me tell you they are like torture trees! Spiney thorns all over the trees and brances that are so dangerous that I was sick for weeks from them when I was stuck with one. They are pretty when they flower but please make sure that the ones you want don't have these things. You could poke your eyes out- flatten tires- go threw sneeker soles! They're horrible. We're trying to cut them all down but they are so dangerous they're impossible to handle. I can't stress this enough- they are a nightmare.

  • donnac_2009
    14 years ago

    I know what you mean about the thorns but it is pretty in the spring. I think I will cut mine down also, beside it get this decease every summer and loses most of it's leafs around the mid summer and looks half dead. When this happens I have no privacy from the neighbours house. Any suggestions on what else to plant! I live on Southern Ontario. Have Lilacs, flowering pear and grab apples already, maybe something red or silvery colour. I also have a golden chain tree which is splitting down the center.

  • jayceo
    13 years ago

    You have all been talking about the tree,flowers and berries for the birds. Don't let the birds have all the berries !!! They make a most wonderful jelly.

  • huguettedf_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    We have what we believe is a hawthorn tree. It has plenty of thorns on it but has not started to flower yet. Can any one tell us how old it should be before it flowers? It has grown to 4-5 feet high from about 1 foot or less when we planted it.( it was less I believe)

  • bryce_dixon22
    7 years ago

    Interesting info. I have a Toba Hawthorn that is now 4 years old. It was about 5-6 ft then, it is about 10 ft now. It is a beautiful tree, very hardy and drought tolerant. I have one issue with it and I have seen no mention of this with anyone else, it Suckers! I am constantly using the shears and lawnmower to control its spread, anyone else experiencing this?

  • Keith
    7 years ago

    I live in Edmonton and also work at a large garden Centre. We no longer sell hawthornes because of the presence of juniper-Hawthorne rust in our area. Too bad, as they are lovely trees, but the disease is pretty devastating.

  • Ann Cassler
    5 years ago

    My hawthorne tree is about 7 or 8 years old. It has never flowered. It's about 8 to 10 feet high, lots of green healthy leaves and lots of thorns but no flowers or berries. Is there something I should be doing for it besides waiting?

  • stillinwisconsin
    2 years ago

    I get cedar apple rust on my supposedly disease resistant adirondack crabapples and my autumn brilliance serviceberry lots of junipers in my neighborhood


    adirondack crabapples are supposed to have superior resistance but they do actuslly the worst in my yard … with that said, they were also most recently planted of my crabapples and probsbly stressed… i had no blooms last year (2021) so no fruit either


    Interestingly, i have zero problems in terms of cedar apple rust with my Sugar Tyme and firebird crabapple, they do GREAT i was windering what all that orange gooey stuff was on my junipers but we have since removed the trees … still theyre all over the neighborhood the disease affects my mcintosh apple tree too


    bummer, i’m

    guessing the hawthorn tree is probably not a good idea for my yard


    i was reading that a blackhaw viburnum is a good alternative to the hawthorn…no thorns but similar growth habit

  • stillinwisconsin
    2 years ago

    Typos due to my iphone not autocorrecting on this forum for whatever reason

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