KUNC Commentators
(2009-05-23)
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FORT COLLINS, CO
(KUNC) -
Hawthorns
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Hawthorns are just starting to bloom along the Front Range. They are going to be showier this year than the crabapples. The earlier crabapple flowers were frozen in a lot of areas. The Haw thorns all bloom with white clusters of flowers. The flowers don't have the most pleasant scent but they are showy. Their multi-season interest is the hawthorn's real claim to fame.
The fruit on some hawthorn varieties will start ripening to a bright color in August. Other varieties won't begin to ripen until September. Most varieties hold onto their fruit well into winter. The fruit attracts birds making hawthorns a great addition to a habitat garden. The late summer and fall fruit color is another season of interest for the hawthorn family.
Hawthorns grow as small trees or large multi-stemmed shrubs. Most of them grow fifteen to twenty feet tall. Some varieties can get wide, so give them room. Catalogs describe hawthorns as broad, round and irregular in form.
Hawthorns are durable plants. Most are rated to zone 3. They can grow at elevations up to nine thousand feet. Once established they withstand dry, windy conditions.
The generally dark green summer leaves turn to oranges and reds in the fall. Some varieties have yellow fall leaf color. The yellow is a contrast to the bright red fruit.
The irregular growth habit is a hawthorn's winter interest. They can be gnarly, flat topped trees. Some have rounded tops with muscled, rippling bark. Either way their winter silhouette is striking.
Hawthorns, like any other plant, aren't perfect. Most varieties have thorns. Some thorns are short, hidden and get you when you least expect it. Others have thorns that are inches long. These are not climbing trees for young children.
Hawthorns are in the apple family and get similar diseases. They are subject to leaf rusts. Which are usually just ugly and don't kill the plant. During cool, wet springs they can get fire blight. Fire blight can kill the plant.
Russian Hawthorn is the gnarliest of all. But its habit makes it the most interesting ad eye catching. The Downy Hawthorns have the most prolific flowers and fruit. They make great habitat plants. Birds nest safely in their thorny branches and then eat the bright red ripened fruit.
tomthrogmorton@mywdo.com
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