Hedging Plants – Hawthorn

Name – botanically known as Crataegus monogyna, the common name 'Hawthorn' comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'Hagathorn' where Haga means hedge. Other common names include Bread and Cheese Tree, Hagthorn, Haw, May, Mayblossom, Mayflower, Maythorn, Maybush, Whitethorn, Quickset, and Quickthorn.

Description and uses – this small tree has dark glossy green leaves which burst into leaf within a few days of the initial buds appearing, has an abundant and spectacular display of white scented blossom, and it develops glossy red haws in autumn, which sustain native birds. The leaves are three, five or seven lobed, and bright green tinged with red. In former days when Chinese, Indian and Ceylon tea were expensive luxuries and taxed highly, young Hawthorn leaves were used to ‘stretch’ tea. In ancient Rome it was the practice for the bridegroom to wave a twig of hawthorn as he led his bride to the bedchamber and later in their marriage, sprigs of hawthorn were attached to the cradle of a new-born child to protect it from sickness and evil spells.

Maintenance and problems – For hedge use, trim between July and March too keep the plants between three and twenty feet tall, or for a stock-proof hedge plant in a staggered double row with 15 inches between rows and 18 inches between the plants. Hawthorn is suitable for all soil types and all sites other than dense shade or very wet soils. According to the Woodland Trust, Hawthorn is the second most advantageous plant for wildlife, beaten only by English oak. Propagation is usually be seed, which germinates only after two years.

Hedging Hawthorn photograph by Dave-F, used under a creative commons attribution licence

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