Cerro Hawthorn

Scientific Name: Crataegus erythropoda Ashe

Plant Guide

Uses

Erosion Control: Because cerro hawthorn 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. Wildlife: It provides excellent cover and nesting sites for many smaller birds. Birds, rodents, and other smaller mammals eat the small fruits. Beautification: Excellent for environmental plantings including small specimen tree and shrub border.

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: Rose Family (Rosaceae). It is a native shrub or small tree that grows to sixteen feet high, with dense spreading, glabrous branchlets and sharply thorny. Leaves are broadest near the base or middle, dark green, smooth at maturity, and sometimes shallowly lobed. Flowers are white and produced in clusters of five to ten flowers. Fruits are elongated, red to blackish in color. Colorado Tree Coalition Distribution: Cerro hawthorn grows from Washington to Wyoming, and south to Arizona and New Mexico.

Adaptation

Although it will succeed in partial shade and different soil types, it grows best in full sunlight and well-drained loamy soils. Cerro hawthorn will tolerate wet soils before 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.

Establishment

Propagation from Seed or Grafting: Cerro 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 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 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, , Use soil moisture sensors to measure the soil moisture of Cerro Hawthorn.

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 insects and diseases seldom affect cerro hawthorn, it is susceptible to fireblight, cedar-hawthorn rust, cedar-quince rust, leaf blight, fruit rot, and leaf spot. Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin) Consult you 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

Colorado Tree Coalition 2001. Cerro hawthorn. Fort Collins, Colorado. Accessed: 11jan02. <http://www.coloradotrees.org/> 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.

Plant Traits

Growth Requirements

Morphology/Physiology

Reproduction

Suitability/Use