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Washington Hawthorne Trees

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

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Hello everyone, first off this is an awesome site!

I recently donated to the arbor day foundation and they are sending me some free trees, which is cool except I don’t have much room on my land and I want to use multifunctional trees not just ornamental. They are sending me white dogwoods, eastern redbuds, Washington hawthorns and crabapple. I plan on using the crabapple to pollinate my red delicious apple tree, the redbuds and dogwoods can go on the sides of the house I suppose. I really don’t think I can use the Hawthornes at all, does anyone have any advice on this? This is a brand new house, no landscaping and just dirt! It is winter now so in a few months I will start sheet mulching but now I am laying everything out and making my plant purchases. I guess I am asking for help on what to do with these free trees, I won’t waste them so worse case is I will give them away to someone. Thank you.

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tel jetson

steward

Posts: 3704

Location: woodland, washington

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posted 15 years ago

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I believe pears will graft to hawthorns. might be worth a shot.

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Rob Seagrist

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

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Wow that is an interesting concept considering I am planning on getting asian pears! I will research that, thanks very much.

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Valerie Dawnstar

pollinator

Posts: 306

Location: North Central New York

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posted 15 years ago

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The trees you mentioned all feed wildlife, too, if that is any consolation.

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Rob Seagrist

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

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Well the wildlife part of it im not too worried about since I am surrounded by woods and farmland. I have a bad habit of taking the cheap route sometimes, so maybe taking free trees and forcing them into my situation is not the right thing to do. I am really considering giving most of them away except for the crabs and maybe one or 2 other for the front of my property(zoning rules). I am just not sure if I am making the right decision or not. I have been looking at plums, hardy kiwi and possibly apricots for the side of the house instead. The sides are east and west. The back of my property is south facing.

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Valerie Dawnstar

pollinator

Posts: 306

Location: North Central New York

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posted 15 years ago

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I think redbuds are one of the most stunning trees going. And they are nitrogen fixers.
But back to the hawthorne, they are a useful insectary and they do produce fruits - haws. I intend to try some this summer from mine. I understand they can be made into a jelly in any case. They are useful medicinally but do study up on that first

Also, they are sacred to Pagans

Lots to consider.

Valerie

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Rob Seagrist

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

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From what I have researched Redbuds don't really fix their own nitrogen, and any that is fixed is really a small amount. I think I will keep one though. As for the Hawthornes, I guess I could try the haw, I don't really know what it tastes like or if the tree version of what I am getting is even edible. Thanks for your input

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Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

posted 15 years ago

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when your trees arrive they are going to be very very very small..you probably will want to put them in pots or a nursery for a while until they are large enough to be out on their own..otherwise..unless you protect them well they will be wildlife forage

Brenda

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Travis Philp

gardener

Posts: 965

Location: ZONE 5a Lindsay Ontario Canada

posted 15 years ago

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I'm not sure if you're into making wine but hawthorn wine can be quite tasty. And as far as I know, anything in the rose family can be grafted onto hawthorns. So that would not only include apples but also plum, peach, nectarine, and I'm probably missing some others.

pfaf.org says of redbud that it's buds can be pickled or used as a caper substitute

dogwoods are good calcium accumulators and apparently most fruit trees need lots of it, so maybe the dogwood could be a source of chop and drop mulch for your apples?

http://www.greenshireecofarms.com
Zone 5a in Central Ontario, Canada

Joel Hollingsworth

pollinator

Posts: 2103

Location: Oakland, CA

posted 15 years ago

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Travis Philp wrote: as far as I know, anything in the rose family can be grafted onto hawthorns. So that would not only include apples but also plum, peach, nectarine, and I'm probably missing some others.

I was under the impression that apple, pear, hawthorn, and quince were fairly closely related, and that plum, almond, apricot, cherry, peach etc. were a separate group.

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Jeremy Bunag

gardener

Posts: 231

Location: Central IL

posted 15 years ago

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At the very least, they're good CO2 -> O2 factories!

I've been getting the Arbor Day free trees for a few years now, but I'm not the best caretaker of the babies, unfortunately for them. I usually stick 'em in the ground in spring, clearing some of the groundcover around it and putting some mulch, as well as a pole or something near it so I don't mow it. I *try* to water them as instructed, but more often than not I forget or can't get water out to the very back of my property (where most of them go). I probably should be taking Brenda's suggestion and starting them in more hospitable conditions (like pots). But what doesn't survive doesn't bother me too much, since it seems a constant flow of Arbor Day trees keep coming! I hope to be a better nurture-er this spring, making it more convenient to water by extending a cheap water line out back.

The point is that even with my bad starting, the Washington Hawthorn has survived and is doing well. It is one of the first batch of trees, so it actually got planted out front and probably gets a *little* better taken care of, though when I get lots of rain it is smack dab in the middle of a puddle. Still surviving!

And of course every single maple that has touched my soil (free tree or helicopter seeds that stowed away on some plants my parents divided for me) has flourished. I guess maples love Illinois...

Travis Philp

gardener

Posts: 965

Location: ZONE 5a Lindsay Ontario Canada

posted 15 years ago

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Joel Hollingsworth wrote:
I was under the impression that apple, pear, hawthorn, and quince were fairly closely related, and that plum, almond, apricot, cherry, peach etc. were a separate group.

I thought that since the plum, peach, cherry, and apricot were in the rose family that they could be suitable for grafting to any other in that same family.

http://www.greenshireecofarms.com
Zone 5a in Central Ontario, Canada

tel jetson

steward

Posts: 3704

Location: woodland, washington

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posted 15 years ago

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I thought that since the plum, peach, cherry, and apricot were in the rose family that they could be suitable for grafting to any other in that same family.

nope.

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paul wheaton

author and steward

Posts: 53504

Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)

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posted 15 years ago

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Not only does pear graft onto hawthorn, but dave boehnlein once told me that at the bullock brothers farm they like to do this because the lower thorny hawthorn branches keep the deer off of the pears growing at the top.

Mighty smart!

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Valerie Dawnstar

pollinator

Posts: 306

Location: North Central New York

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posted 15 years ago

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Jess thinkin'... then how do people get the pears?

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tel jetson

steward

Posts: 3704

Location: woodland, washington

203

posted 15 years ago

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make gloves out of the deers. humans are better at climbing trees and ladders than deers, too.

find religion! church
kiva! hyvä! iloinen! pikkumaatila
get stung! beehives
be hospitable! host-a-hive
be antisocial! facespace

Valerie Dawnstar

pollinator

Posts: 306

Location: North Central New York

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posted 15 years ago

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tel wrote:
make gloves out of the deers. humans are better at climbing trees and ladders than deers, too.

Deerskin gloves are very nice but have you ever gotten up close and personal with a hawthorne?

Furthering Permaculture next to Lake Ontario.
www.oswego.edu/permaculture

Scott Reil

Posts: 179

Location: Colchester, CT

posted 15 years ago

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Give them away, preferably to someone who doesn't know you kind of dislike them...

Thorns, rust prone, not enough fruit for anybody but birds (the ONE reason to maybe plant hawthorn). Ehh. You can do better. Think paw paw...

HG

Connecticut Accredited Nurseryperson
Accredited Organic Land Care Professional (NOFA)

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