Cockspur Hawthorn

Size, growth and what to expect

Cockspur hawthorn grows at a moderate pace, so our growth estimator gives it about a foot and a half a year. It makes a low-branched tree of 20 to 30 feet with a spread of 20 to 35 feet. Its thorns run 2 to 3 inches, among the longest of any hawthorn. Hawthorns grown from seed take 5 to 8 years to bear fruit.

White flowers about half an inch across open in flat clusters in May and June. The dull red fruit, a third to half an inch across, ripens in September and October and often hangs on the tree until January. Cedar waxwings, fox sparrows, ruffed grouse and rodents eat it. The haws are edible raw or cooked, but most people leave them for the birds. In fall the leaves turn orange, scarlet or purple.

Its range runs from southern Quebec and Ontario south to Florida and Texas. It grows in pastures, thickets, fencerows, woodland edges and bottomland forests, at times in pure stands many acres across.

How to grow Cockspur Hawthorn

Cockspur hawthorn wants full sun and takes light shade. It grows in any soil that drains, including clay, compacted and alkaline ground. It stands drought, heat, winter salt spray and city air. Its long thorns are dangerous, so plant it well back from paths, drives and play areas. Set trees 20 feet apart, and keep each one 15 feet from a wall and 15 feet from overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the trunk. Seedlings grow a taproot in their first year, so set young trees out early and leave them in place. Seed needs a warm spell and then a cold one. Sow cleaned seed outdoors in early fall, a quarter inch deep, and expect many seedlings only in the second spring. For a spring sowing, keep it damp at room temperature for three to four months, then in the refrigerator for three to four and a half months.

Water weekly through the first summer, and in dry spells for the next two. Deer browse the young twigs and leaves and rabbits gnaw the bark, so cage each sapling with wire for its first three years. Wear gloves when you work around it. Prune in winter or early spring, taking out root suckers and the weakest branches to let in light.

Its flowers carry both male and female parts, and their scent soon turns fishy and draws the midges that pollinate them. Most cockspur hawthorns set seed with their own pollen, so one tree usually bears alone. Midges drawn by the fishy scent carry the pollen. Cedar-hawthorn and cedar-quince rusts are its main diseases where eastern red cedar grows nearby. Fire blight, leaf spots, powdery mildew and scab can also strike. Aphids, borers, lace bugs, leafminers, scale and spider mites are the usual pests.