The Washington Hawthorn Tree (Crateaegus phaenopyrum) truly have year-round interest with clusters of beautiful white flowers in the Spring, glossy green foliage in the Summer, and dramatic Fall foliage.
Characteristics
Western Hawthorns are grown for their clusters of white flowers in the Spring and red berries that look like little apples and that hang on from late Summer through most of the Winter. Cedar Waxwings love the berries and wait for them to ripen before the flock in to devour the berries. The berries are fleshy but do not stain surfaces.
They have sharp, thorny branches that often grow in multibranched thickets. The thorny branches can be useful as a barrier plant.
The summer foliage is green with maple-like leaves and turns orange, red, and purple in the Fall.
This tree grows up to 15 to 25′ tall and wide, making a great street tree or lawn tree.
Hawthorns are best grown in full sun and they prefer moist, well-drained loamy soil. Prune only to shape or thin as the branches can become quite laden with berries. Fireblight can show up in them but usually isn’t detrimental to the tree.
