# Cockspur Hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli)

> A flat-topped native hawthorn with thorns 2 to 3 inches long, white flowers in May and June, and dull red haws that often hang on until January.

Also called cockspur thorn, Newcastle thorn, hog apple. Category: Nut & Fruit Trees. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/cockspur-hawthorn/

![Cockspur hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli) long thorns and white flower clusters on a branch](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/cockspur-hawthorn-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, CC BY-SA 4.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACrataegus_crus-galli_kz04.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Small tree
- Mature height: 20 to 30 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 8
- Grows wild in: Stream banks, floodplain forests, old fields and edges
- Native range: 33 states and the District of Columbia, north to Minnesota, south to Florida and west to Texas (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia)
- Sun: Full, Part
- Soil moisture: Average, Dry
- Growth rate: Medium
- Traits: Showy flowers, Wildlife value, Hedge or screen, Fall color, Drought tolerant, Edible, Winter interest, Erosion control, Salt tolerant
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed.

## Notes

Cockspur hawthorn is one of the more abundant hawthorns of North America, and one of the easiest to know by its long thorns and glossy, spoon-shaped leaves. Its branches spread flat and level, the lower ones often sweeping near the ground, so an old tree wears a broad, table-topped crown. It has been planted for ornament and as a hedge since colonial times, and its thorns have served locally as pins. The dense, thorny branches give small birds safe places to nest. In front of evergreens the lingering red haws stand out in winter, and the tree is also planted to stabilize banks. Grow it as a barrier hedge along a property line, or as a wildlife tree at a sunny field edge.

## 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.

## Sources

- [Flora of North America, vol. 9: Crataegus crus-galli, Phipps, with var. crus-galli and var. pyracanthifolia](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416328)
- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Crataegus crus-galli](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/crataegus-crus-galli/)
- [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Crataegus crus-galli](https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=286381)
- [The Morton Arboretum: Cockspur hawthorn](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/cockspur-hawthorn/)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Crataegus crus-galli](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CRCR2)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Guide: cockspur hawthorn, Crataegus crus-galli, Lorenzo](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_crcr2.pdf)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Crataegus chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Crataegus.pdf)
- [Trees and Shrubs Online: Crataegus crus-galli, Bean's text](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/crataegus/crataegus-crus-galli/)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Crataegus crus-galli, standard record](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.156740/Crataegus_crus-galli)
- [Michigan Flora, University of Michigan Herbarium: Crataegus crus-galli](https://michiganflora.net/record/2442)
- [UF/IFAS Extension, Gilman and Watson: Crataegus laevigata 'Crimson Cloud', ENH370](http://web.archive.org/web/20200804173817/https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st211)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [Multistem or single stem? Sometimes the trunk is hiding the answer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/multistem-or-single-stem/index.html.md)
- [Leaf litter, not wood chips, under the canopy](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/leaf-litter-not-wood-chips/index.html.md)
- [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md)

## Related

- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Cockspur Hawthorn, add ?species=cockspur-hawthorn with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=cockspur-hawthorn&zone=3&sun=part&moisture=average.
- [Companion species for Cockspur Hawthorn](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=cockspur-hawthorn): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=cockspur-hawthorn
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Cockspur Hawthorn is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=cockspur-hawthorn
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Cockspur Hawthorn needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=cockspur-hawthorn:1
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Cockspur Hawthorn flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.