Hawthorn hedge ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Crataegus monogyna
• Family: Rose family (Rosaceae)
• Synonym: single hawthorn, hawthorn
• Occurrence: Europe
• Growth type: shrub, small tree
• Growth height: 200 cm to 800 cm
• Growth width: 100 cm to 500 cm
• Leaf: deciduous
• Flowers: white corymbs
• Fruit: drupe
• Hardiness: hardy
• Use: hedge plant

growth

With its naturally beautiful growth, single-row hawthorn is recommended as a premium choice for the natural hedge. The following key data illustrate why the native flowering shrub has been one of the most popular hedge plants in Germany for many generations:

• growth type: deciduous, profusely flowering shrub or small tree with several stems.
• growth habit: upright, densely bushy, richly branched with thorny twigs.
• growth height: 2 m to 8 m (up to 12 m without pruning).
• growth width: 1 m to 5 m (up to 8 m without pruning).
• growth rate: 20 cm to 40 cm per year.
• bark: dark brown with orange cracks and strong spines.
• root: stable deep rooter.

Why you with your decision for a hawthorn hedge are exactly right, you will find out in the following video:

Hawthorn hedge - a source of life for any garden

blossom

The outstanding ecological value of a hawthorn hedge is based on a breathtaking splendor of flowers. The following properties characterize a hawthorn blossom:

• heyday: May and June.
• inflorescence: Lush umbellate with up to 25 individual flowers.
• single flower: fivefold, cupped, white petals, red stamens, 1 style, 8-15 mm in diameter.
• flower ecology: hermaphroditic
• particularities: intensely fragrant, rich in pollen and nectar.
• pollinator: bees, bumblebees, butterflies, flies

With a nectar value of 2, hawthorn is one of the middle forage plants. It is the exuberant abundance of blossoms that made a hawthorn hedge so much swarmed about bee pasture might.

Sheet

A dense robe of foliage serves as a green backdrop for the picturesque blossom festival. The deciduous leaves adorn a hawthorn hedge even when it is not in bloom and protect your privacy from prying eyes. A hawthorn leaf can be recognized by these characteristics:

• leaf shape: oval to ovate, deeply lobed
• sheet size: 5 cm to 7 cm long
• leaf color: dark green
• arrangement: alternate
• autumn coloring: golden yellow

Hawthorn leaves are an important food source for the caterpillars of many endangered species of butterflies, such as the magnificent Swallowtail Butterfly (Iphiclides podalirius) or the nocturnal copper hen (Gastropacha quercifolia). The hawthorn hedge is highly valued by birds as an ideal breeding ground. The densely leafy branches with long thorns are the perfect bulwark against furry ones Hunter, like cats and martens.

fruit

A hawthorn hedge bids farewell to the cold season with an interesting play of colors consisting of golden-yellow leaves and red fruit decorations. Ripe hawthorn fruits as a vitamin-rich source of food now make the hearts of hungry birds beat faster. All important fruit characteristics in a nutshell:

• fruit ecology: pome fruit
• fruit shape: apple-shaped to ovate, 8-10 mm long, with a hard stone core.
• fruit color: dark red
• fruit ripening: from September

As hibernators, the red mini-fruits remain on a hawthorn hedge for many weeks and are only eaten by birds when they are brownish and fully ripe.

Plant a hawthorn hedge

The purchase of hawthorn as a hedge plant is affordable for every financial budget. It is important to make a meticulous calculation, taking into account the planned hedge length and the desired privacy factor after planting. Choosing the right location is less of a headache. Knowledgeable planting technique will ensure hawthorn plants grow well. The calculated planting distance decides which hawthorn you should buy at what price. A look at these planting tips can save you a lot of money:

Buy hawthorn as a hedge plant

You can buy hawthorn as root crops, container plants or ready-made hedges from nurseries. Inexpensive root crops are not surrounded by soil, are dug up on site in autumn and immediately planted in the garden. The decisive advantage of container goods is that they can be planted all year round. Ready-made hawthorn hedges are the luxury version, which is reflected in the higher purchase price. The following table provides an overview:

Please note: This table serves as a guide for the purchase of hawthorn hedges and does not claim to be a representative price index.

Location

These are the perfect conditions for a magnificent hawthorn hedge in the garden:

• sun up penumbra (Shadow impairs flowering and fruiting).
• normal garden floor, preferably nutritious, deep, calcareous.
• Exclusion criteria: waterlogging, acidic pH less than 5.0.

The influence of the elements on the location does not matter to a hawthorn. The wood thrives undaunted in the bitter cold, stormy winds or midsummer heat.

Plant a hawthorn hedge

The best planting tips for a hawthorn hedge to read:

• The best planting time is in autumn (October to April, as long as spade gets into the ground).
• Tensioned cords mark a dead-straight line of the hedge.
• A planting trench simplifies row planting compared to individual planting holes.
• The ditch or planting hole is twice as wide and deep as the root ball.
• compost and horn shavings(€9.00 at Amazon*) mix with the excavation for an extra portion of nutrients.
• Place hawthorn plants in water first, then pot and plant.
• The planting depth corresponds to the previous depth in the nursery (note dark soil marks as a guide).
• Extra tip: bare-root hedge plants get a strong one pruningso that they grow well.

Press the soil firmly with both hands. On this occasion, form a casting ring out of bedding soil around each hawthorn and water thoroughly.

digression

Two-style hawthorn - a natural treasure with house tree qualities

Maintain hawthorn hedge

A hawthorn hedge is very easy to maintain. After planting, there is an increased need for watering for a while, which later reduces significantly. A start fertilization in spring promotes growth and flowering. When cutting, protection from the nasty thorns is just as important as timing and cutting. You can read here how to care for a hawthorn hedge in an exemplary manner:

Pour

Drought stress is the most common cause of newly planted hawthorn hedges failing to take root. Therefore, keep the soil constantly slightly moist for the first four to six weeks. From now on, if the drought persists, water thoroughly once a week.

Fertilize

Fertilize is not mandatory in hawthorn care. The native wood is nevertheless grateful for additional nutrients in spring. In March/April, work a mixture of 3 liters of compost and 100 grams horn shavings(€9.00 at Amazon*) on the root disk. A second helping at the end of June goes down well with a hawthorn hedge, because this is when the flower buds begin to develop.

Cut hawthorn hedge

As is characteristic of spring bloomers, a hawthorn bush lays its buds in the summer of the previous year. Furthermore, a hawthorn hedge is a retreat, pantry, nursery and bedroom for more than 160 animal species. The point in time plays an important role so that a maintenance and shape cut does not cause a massacre among the animal inhabitants or destroy valuable flower buds. So to cut a hawthorn hedge properly:

1. Prune hawthorn hedge after flowering and breeding season.
2. Put on thorn-proof protective clothing.
3. Trim hedge into trapezium shape (broad base, narrower crown).

Over the years, deadwood accumulates in the deciduous hedge. Best time for a comprehensive thinning cut is during the leafless period, ideally in late winter. The pronounced pruning tolerance allows a radical rejuvenation pruning, because hawthorn happily drives out again even from old wood.

Popular Varieties

Single hawthorn is the progenitor of these beautiful varieties for natural garden design:

• Stricta: Columnar thorn with a slender silhouette, 6-7 m tall, 2-3 m wide, beautiful as a hawthorn tree and elegant hawthorn hedge.
• compacta: compact hawthorn for the small garden with a height of 200 cm to 400 cm and a bushy, spherical habit.
• corkscrew mandrel: Rarity with bizarrely twisting branches and curved leaves, up to 300 cm tall.
• Glastonbury Thorn: delights with two flowering periods in May/June and in December on old wood.
• Xanthocodon: colorful variety with yellow shoots, white flowers, red fruits and golden-yellow autumn colors.

FAQ

Should you refrain from planting a hawthorn hedge due to the risk of fire blight?

Hawthorn is one of the most important host plants of the dangerous fire blight bacterial infection. For this reason, one should refrain from planting a hawthorn hedge in regions with a risk of fire blight. A decorative alternative are resistant hedge plants, such as the large-leaved barberry (Berberis julianae), the native sloe (Prunus spinosa) or the majestic bird cherry (Prunus padus).

Which plant neighbors go well with the hawthorn bush for a mixed natural hedge?

Perfect planting partners for hawthorn are other wild fruit trees with comparable site requirements. These include dog rose (Rosa canina), black elder (Sambucus nigra), cornel (Cornus mas), ordinary honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum), holly (Ilex) and privet (Ligustrum).

When is the best time of year to plant a hawthorn hedge?

The best time to plant a hawthorn hedge is in autumn. Hawthorn bushes are hardy down to – 25° Celsius, so they grow well even in cold weather. For inexpensive, bare-root trees, the window is open from October to April. You can plant hawthorn in containers at any time of the year, provided the ground is not frozen or completely parched.