Hawthorns

[It's Kev]

I’ve got hawthorns.



Or at least, fruit, berries, whatever
How do I grow these?

I know step 1: eat
Step 2 spit

But then what? Stratification? Scarified? Boiled? Roasted? Left in the cold?

 

[Handsome John]

I've never tried Hawthorns but they shouldn't be too hard since they sprout in the wild like crazy. I usually just stratify my other seeds naturally over the winter but I'm sure you could soak them in warm water then plant them and see some sprouting. Maybe cool them for a month? since you're in a warmer climate? In the end experiment! and tell me how the fruit tastes

 

[eryk2kartman]

I might be wrong but i think Howthorns needs double dormancy, that means they will come up 2nd spring.

 

[Hyn Patty]

These directions may be helpful to you. I'm sure if you do internet searches you can find more information as well, but this seems pretty solid. Scroll down a bit for the germination information. Good luck!

https://www.treeseedonline.com/store/p133/Hawthorn,_Maythorn_(crataegus_monogyna).html

 

[Mike Hennigan]

I might be wrong but i think Howthorns needs double dormancy, that means they will come up 2nd spring.

Not necessarily though, I think you can expect the double dormancy if you don’t scarify the seeds in any way. But you can get some to germinate at least the first spring.

You’re going to want to scarify them. I physically scarified some seed I collected in fall 2017. I ran each seed up and down a metal file. I got like 8 of them to germinate the following spring after cold statifying in my fridge. Not a great germinatation rate, my guess is that some would have germinated the following spring if I had kept them.

I haven’t tried any other scarifying techniques with hawthorn yet but since they’re used to being eaten by birds and sitting in the acid of a birds stomach before making it back to the soil... they rely on this to germinate. You’ll have much better results if you scarify somehow first and then cold stratify.

 

[Mike Hennigan]

Oh, and the fruits are called “Haws”! Go figure. Make me think of like a cross between a rose hip and a tiny apple.

 

[Hyn Patty]

If you read through the link I provided, it tells you a 'heat' treatment period that scarifies the seed for you. I've also read on other sites that you can soak the seed in hot water and skip the 8 weeks.

 

[It's Kev]

https://www.treeseedonline.com/store/p133/Hawthorn,_Maythorn_(crataegus_monogyna).html

Next the seeds require a cold period to break the final part of the dormancy, this is easily achieved by placing the bag in the fridge at (4 Celsius or 39F) for at least 12 weeks (although it can take as many as 16 weeks for signs of germination to show).

Do not expose newly sown seeds to high temperatures (above 25 Celsius).

seems like I’m too late this year, have to try again in winter