Crataegus monogyna

Sunset

Crataegus phaenopyrum

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Zones 1-12, 14-17, 28, 30-41

Full

Moderate

Rosaceae
Deciduous, Trees

CRATAEGUS

Small trees, these members of the rose family are known for clusters of pretty, usually white flowers after leaf-out in spring and for showy fruit resembling tiny apples in summer and fall (and often into winter). They are typically multitrunked, with thorny branches that need some pruning to thin out excess twiggy growth. Many hawthorns produce water sprouts, which should be pruned out. They attract bees, birds.

Crataegus monogyna

Native to Europe, North Africa, western Asia. Classic hawthorn of English countryside for hedges and boundary plantings. Represented in Western nurseries mainly by the upright variety ‘Stricta’, 30 ft. tall and 8 ft. wide. Plant 5 ft. apart for dense, narrow screen. Leaves 2 in. long, with three to seven deep, smooth-edged lobes. Clusters of small red fruit are rather difficult to see.