How to get RID of Hawthorne

Hawthorne is taking over the apple orchard and I do not know how to deal with it. Cutting it just makes it grow back tenfold. Covering it with cardboard and black plastic seems to encourage it to grow right through the material and come up stronger than ever. The orchard is filling fast and it is difficult to walk through in places, like a huge briar patch. It is all about 2 feet tall. Any suggestions anyone???

cut it down, remove debris. pull out what you can, repeat 4-6 times every year

Can you dig it out?

I have hawthorn over a significant part of my property and I’ve had success with cutting it back to the ground several times in the growing season for several seasons in a row. so long as you cut it back just after it leafs out in the spring and it's small or weak there is a chance it will die. If it is over a small area I’ve also used a shovel or a grubbing axe to cut the roots of the smaller ones to set them back. Unfortunately the only sure fire way I’ve found so far is with a lawnmower, which is problematical with a 20ft tall tree... or for that matter a 4in high stump of fruit wood you just "discovered" with a freshly tuned up mower.

-- Will

Thanks to all who replied. Very helpful, especially the parts about going back many times throughout the year! Persistence must be the key.

You can always graft something onto the hawthorn like pears and quince if it's not too much in the way. There is also hawthorn C.arnoldiana which I have growing in my garden it's meant to be much tastier but it's not successfully fruited for me yet.

I graft medlars onto my hawthorn it's a doddle so easy they take realy well
David