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Plant Guide

Crataegus aestivalis (Walt.) Torr. & Gray
may hawthorn
CRAE

Summary

Duration

Perennial

Growth Habit

Tree, Shrub

U.S. Nativity

Native to U.S.

Federal T/E Status

 

National Wetland Indicator

OBL

 

Morphology/Physiology

Active Growth Period

Spring and Summer

After Harvest Regrowth Rate

 

Bloat

None

C:N Ratio

Medium

Coppice Potential

Yes

Fall Conspicuous

No

Fire Resistant

No

Flower Color

White

Flower Conspicuous

Yes

Foliage Color

Dark Green

Foliage Porosity Summer

Moderate

Foliage Porosity Winter

Porous

Foliage Texture

Medium

Fruit/Seed Color

Red

Fruit/Seed Conspicuous

Yes

Growth Form

Multiple Stem

Growth Rate

Moderate

Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)

26

Height, Mature (feet)

26

Known Allelopath

No

Leaf Retention

No

Lifespan

Moderate

Low Growing Grass

No

Nitrogen Fixation

 

Resprout Ability

Yes

Shape and Orientation

Erect

Toxicity

None

 

Growth Requirements

Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils

No

Adapted to Fine Textured Soils

No

Adapted to Medium Textured Soils

Yes

Anaerobic Tolerance

Medium

CaCO3 Tolerance

Low

Cold Stratification Required

Yes

Drought Tolerance

Low

Fertility Requirement

Medium

Fire Tolerance

Low

Frost Free Days, Minimum

90

Hedge Tolerance

Medium

Moisture Use

High

pH, Minimum

5.8

pH, Maximum

7.3

Planting Density per Acre, Minimum

300

Planting Density per Acre, Maximum

700

Precipitation, Minimum

34

Precipitation, Maximum

60

Root Depth, Minimum (inches)

18

Salinity Tolerance

None

Shade Tolerance

Intolerant

Temperature, Minimum (°F)

-38

 

Reproduction

Bloom Period

Mid Spring

Commercial Availability

Routinely Available

Fruit/Seed Abundance

Medium

Fruit/Seed Period Begin

Spring

Fruit/Seed Period End

Summer

Fruit/Seed Persistence

Yes

Propagated by Bare Root

Yes

Propagated by Bulb

No

Propagated by Container

Yes

Propagated by Corm

No

Propagated by Cuttings

Yes

Propagated by Seed

Yes

Propagated by Sod

No

Propagated by Sprigs

No

Propagated by Tubers

No

Seed per Pound

20000

Seed Spread Rate

Moderate

Seedling Vigor

Medium

Small Grain

No

Vegetative Spread Rate

None

 

Suitability/Use

Berry/Nut/Seed Product

No

Christmas Tree Product

No

Fodder Product

No

Fuelwood Product

None

Lumber Product

No

Naval Store Product

No

Nursery Stock Product

Yes

Palatable Browse Animal

High

Palatable Graze Animal

Low

Palatable Human

No

Post Product

No

Protein Potential

Medium

Pulpwood Product

No

Veneer Product

No

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass  Rosidae

Order  Rosales

Family  Rosaceae -- Rose family

Genus  Crataegus L. -- hawthorn P

Species  Crataegus aestivalis (Walt.) Torr. & Gray -- may hawthorn P

 

Uses

Erosion Control: Because it tolerates a wide variety of sites, it can be planted to stabilize banks, for shelterbelts, and from wind and water erosion. 

 

Timber: Although the wood is hard and strong, it has no commercial value except for tool handles and other small items.  Fruits are often gathered for jellies. 

 

Wildlife: It provides excellent cover and nesting sites for many smaller birds.  Birds, rodents, and other smaller mammals eat the small fruits.  White tailed deer browse the young twigs and leaves. 

 

Beautification/landscape: It is used in beautification project around homes, city streets, and office buildings.  It is excellent for environmental plantings, including small specimen tree and shrub borders. 

 

Status

Please consult the Plants Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values. 

 

Description

General: It is a spiny tree that grows to forty feet high and fifteen inches DBH.  Leaves are narrow, broadest above or near the middle, dark green and shiny, serrated, seldom lobed and smooth.  Flowers are white, produced singly or in two or three flowered clusters.  Fruits are broadest above the middle or rounded, and red in color. 

 

Distribution: May hawthorn grows on the outer coastal plain from North Carolina to Mississippi.  For current distribution, please consult the plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site. 

 

Adaptation

Although it will succeed in partial shade and different soil types, it grows best in full sunlight, well-drained loamy soils.  May hawthorn will tolerate wet soils becoming drought tolerant once established.  It is wind tolerant making it a good tree species in shelterbelt planting.  It is also tolerant of atmospheric pollution and performs well in urban settings.  It is commonly found in river swamps, pond areas, and stream banks. 

 

Establishment

Propagation from Seed or Grafting: May hawthorn can be propagated by either seeds or grafting.  Successful propagation using seeds requires acid scarification followed by warm stratification and prechilling.  Seeds, whose numbers per pound (lb.) varies with species, are planted early in the fall, in drill rows eight to twelve inches apart and covered with 1/4 inch of soil.  Seedlings must not be kept in the nursery longer than a year. 

 

Containerized trees should be planted when they are no more than eight feet tall, in the fall or early spring.  Balled and burlapped trees should be planted in early spring. 

 

Grafting on seedling stock of Crataegus oxyacantha or Crataegus monogyna is best carried out in the winter to early spring. 

 

Management

Pruning should be done in the winter or early spring in order to maintain a clear shoot leader on young trees and/or remove the weakest branches to allow more light to pass through.  Suckers or stems arising from the roots should be removed when they become noticeable. 

 

Pest and Potential Problems

Although pests and diseases seldom affect Crataegus aestivalis, it is susceptible to fire-blight, cedar-hawthorn rust, cedar-quince rust, leaf blight and fruit rot, and leaf spot. 

 

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Consult your local nurseries to choose the right cultivar for your specific landscape. 

 

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information.  Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.”  The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

 

References

Dirr, M.A. 1990.  Manual of woody landscape plants: their identification, ornamental characteristics, culture, propagation and uses.  3rd ed.  Stipes, Champaign, Illinois.

 

Duncan, W.H. & M.B. Duncan 1988.  Trees of the Southeastern United States.  University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia.

 

Elias, T.S. 1989.  Field guide to North American trees.  Revised ed. Grolier Book Clubs Inc., Danbury, Connecticut.

 

Flint, H.L. 1983.  Landscape plants for eastern North America.  John Wiley and Sons, Inc, New York, New York.

 

Harrar, E.S. & J.G. Harrar. 1962.  Guide to southern trees.  2nd ed.  Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York.

 

Little, E.E. 1996.  National Audubon Society field guide to North American trees: Eastern region.  Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York.

 

USDA Forest Service 1974.  Seeds of woody plants in the United States.  Agricultural Handbook 450. USDA, Washington, DC.

 

USDA Forest Service 1990.  Silvics of North America.  Agricultural Handbook 654.  Forest Service, USDA, Washington, DC.

 

Young, J. A. & C.G. Young. 1992.  Seeds of woody plants in North America.  Revised and enlarged ed.  Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon

 

Prepared By

Alfredo B. Lorenzo

Formerly, Southern University and A&M College

College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

Species Coordinator

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

Edited: 18apr02 jsp; 25feb03 ahv; 05jun06 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>


 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture 

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