If you are looking for a smaller tree 15'X15", try "Crimsom Cloud". They have a stunning red bloom and the tree can actually look covered in them in the spring. "Winter King" is a larger Hawthorne at 25'x25'. It has an excellent vivid green leaf and blooms of white in the spring. "Toba" has a pinkish white bloom and in size is between the two above mentioned trees. There is some information on these that they can have some disease issues but I have never experiended it here in Maine.
The last tree that I would comment on is the "Cockspur Thornless" Hawthorne. They have a smooth light grap bark and blooms of white in the spring. The leaves are a dark green and very tough in texture. They get to 25'X25' and are vigorous growing.

Thanks for the recommendations victor. Appreciate the feedback.

I'll do some research on those varieties. Are these trees generally easy to find or are they specialty mail order type trees?

The Winter King might be slightly larger than what we were hoping for but still manageable. The Crimson Cloud sounds great.

Thanks.

Dave

I would find a good nursery in your area and they will likely have them. B&B would be great this time of year but potted will be alright as well. You may need to stake the tree if it is tall and of a smaller caliper.

Winter King is one of the more readily available hawthorns, and performs reasonably well here in Michigan. It has one of the best fruit displays of the hawthorns and is probably the one you saw at your local shopping center. It's also less thorny than most others (except thornless cockspur). The Winter Kings in my area are not totally consistent from year to year for fruit display, however, perhaps due to low winter temps or late freezes(?). Crimson Cloud has very nice flowers, but is probably more susceptible to leaf diseases. I'm not a big fan of Washington hawthorn, but there are one or two improved versions out there that are advertised to have better form than the straight species, with attractive and persistent fruit.

Victor and Arbordave, thanks for the replies.

Next time I'm over at that shopping center I will try take a photo of the trees in question. That might help solve the mystery!

I do recall that last year these hawthorns were literally covered in orange/reddish fruits, roughly 3/8" to 1/2" in size. There were so many fruits that the branches looked to be drooping. These trees did have thorns for sure, but not very many thorns. Some branches had none at all while others had several in the 2" to 3" range.

I've read online that there are literally a thousand different hawthorn species due to crossbreeding, and that many arborists or local DNR workers can't tell them apart. Having said that, I'm sure I couldnt tell them apart!

Winter King does seem to be one of the most popular hawthorns here in Michigan and probably one of the easiest to find as well. We have fairly tough conditions here (wind, summer droughts, cold snowy winters, etc.) so we'd want a hawthorn that did well in those conditions. It will be mulched and watered, but low maintenance is key. Also we have lots of deer so hopefully they don't like harthorns for breakfast!

We'll take a look athe local garden centers in the next few weeks and see what we can find.

Thanks everyone.

Regards,

Dave

BTW, forgot to ask this earlier. Are hawthorn tress "messy"? By that I mean do the uneaten orange fruits drop all over the ground in late winter and early spring and make unsightly messes in lawns or garden beds?

Just wanted to check if there some downsides to planting hawthorn trees. We plan to plant one in a mulched garden bed.

Also do the trees replicate by seeds in the fruits?

Thanks.

Dave

The Winter Kings I have observed do not seem to be overly messy - the fruits persist on the tree into the winter and either drop over a relatively long period (rather than all at once) or birds eat a significant number of them. I have noticed some seedlings appearing in mulch beds, but not in unmanageable numbers. I recall a couple of times over the years when thornless cockspurs seem to have produced more fruits than average, and there was a bit of a mess under some of the trees.

Another "down side" to the hawthorns is (in some people's opinion) the unpleasant fragrance of the flowers.

A Crimson Cloud in Yakima measured 23' x 17' in 1995.

Thanks arbordave and bboy. I'll keep those things in mind when deciding about a hawthorn. I don't mind a few fruits on the ground or in a garden bed, just didn't want hundreds of them laying on the ground.

I assume the fruits contain seeds and that's how they reproduce. Again a few seedlings in the garden beds are no big deal.

We'll take a look at the local nurseries and see what we can find. I'll probably wait until September to plant as the weather should be cooler and, hopefully, wetter by then. We have drought-like conditions now.

Thanks.

Maybe we'll have time to hit the local garden centers this weekend and see what hawthorns they have in stock.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

Dave