Washington Hawthorn has been the most planted hawthorn species for decades in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwestern US. The newer 'Winter King' Hawthorn seems to be planted as the most common since around 2000 AD. The Washington Hawthorn's native range is western Virginia & North Carolina, most of Tennessee, much of Kentucky, southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, southwest to central to northeast Indiana, and southwest Ohio, in lowland wet mesic and along creek and stream banks to upland dry sites on wooded margins. This Haw has small, maple-like, shiny dark leaves that are resistant to Cedar Rust disease. The foliage gets a good orange to red autumn color. The white flower clusters appear in early to mid-June. The numerous glossy red, apple-like berries are borne in late September into winter, even to early April of the next year, depending when the birds, especially Cedar Waxwings feed upon them. It bears thin thorns to about 3 inches long, though they are not horribly prickly. Like most hawthorns it does eventually develop a taproot, but it is easily transplanted as a small tree. I find it occasionally planted in some homeowner's yards and used by landscape architects a good amount in estates and public landscapes of parks, campuses, parking lots, etc.

Reply to this comment