35 Best Hawthorn Tree Varieties

Are you planning on growing Hawthorn Trees in your garden? Well, you will be immensely thrilled to know that there are a wide array of Hawthorn Tree varieties that you can grow in your home. Here are some of the most popular Hawthorn trees widely grown as garden trees!

Hawthorn Trees are part of the apple family of deciduous Crataegus spp. These trees feature white spring flowers and attractive, edible, round fall fruits in various hues of red, orange, yellow, and even black. These fruits often resemble small apples, berries, and even pears.

There are approximately 280 Hawthorn Tree varieties, most of which can be grown as shrubs. These trees are native to the temperate regions of Europe, North America, and Asia. The distinctive feature of most Hawthorn Trees is the spines that grow on their stems. However, there are many thorn-less varieties available as well. They are attractive trees with green leaves that turn into red, orange, copper, burgundy, and purple hues in fall.

Hawthorns are popularly used as accent trees, screens, as part of a hedge, and as barrier trees. Typically, Hawthorns can grow in confined spaces with poor soil and drainage. However, these adaptable, drought-resistant trees truly thrive in full sun and different varieties of well-drained, acidic to alkaline, moist to wet soils.

Depending on the variety of Hawthorn, these trees can grow anywhere between 10 to 35 feet tall. They are characterized by their broad-spreading, rounded to flat-topped crowns that are often decked with a profusion of flower and fruit clusters. Hawthorns are slow-growing trees that can live between 50 and 150 years.

Here are all the varieties of Hawthorn trees that you can grow in your garden!

1. Arnold Hawthorn

  • Crataegus arnoldiana
  • Height: 23 ft
Arnold hawthorn
USDA NRCS Arnold hawthorn

Arnold Hawthorn is a deciduous, low-branching tree with a broad, rounded crown. It features simple, oval-shaped, serrate-edged leaves and spectacular clusters of white spring blossoms. This ornamental tree also grows bright red, mid-summer, berry-like pomes. This tree attracts birds and deer. It thrives in partial shade and all sorts of well-drained soils.

2. Arkansas Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus mollis
  • Height: 20-40 ft
Crataegus mollis
Magnus Manske Crataegus mollis

Popularly known as Downy Hawthorn, Arkansas Hawthorn is a deciduous tree with a compact, rounded crown, spreading branches, and large, hairy, broad leaves. This thorny tree yields an abundance of white blossoms that give way to large, scarlet fruits. Downy Hawthorn thrives in moist, fertile, free-draining soils and full sun.

3. Barberry Leaf Hawthorn

  • Crataegus berberifolia
  • Height: 10 ft

Barberry Leaf Hawthorn is a spiny shrub or small tree with a broad, flat crown and spreading branches. It features alternate, simple, oblong, dark green leaves and small, 5-petaled, white blossoms with yellow anthers. The blooms give way to yellow-orange, sweet pomes. This tree grows well in free-draining, moist soils, and full sun.

4. Crimson Cloud Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus laevigata ‘crimson cloud’
  • Height: 15-20 ft

Crimson Cloud Hawthorn is an award-winning Hawthorn Tree with sharp thorns growing on its branches. This beautiful tree features lush, glossy, deeply lobed, green leaves that turn warm yellow and bronze in fall. It also yields an abundance of single reddish-pink blossoms with white centers. This tree thrives in heavy loams and full sun.

5. Washington Hawthorn

  • Crataegus phaenopyrum
  • Height: 20-25 ft
Crataegus phaenopyrum Washington Hawthorn
Frank Richards Crataegus phaenopyrum – Washington Hawthorn

Washington Hawthorn is a multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a rounded crown decked with glossy, ovate, serrate, lobed leaves that turn bright red, orange, and purple in fall. This tree has a scaly, thorny bark. It thrives in full sun and dry to moist, free-draining soils. It yields clusters of flat-topped, white blossoms that give way to small, bright red, glossy pomes.

6. Cockspur Hawthorn

  • Crataegus crus-galli
  • Height: 15-35 ft
Crataegus crus galli
Plant Image Library Crataegus crus galli

Cockspur Hawthorn is a small, deciduous tree with a pyramidal, rounded crown. It features serrate-edged, unlobed, glossy, ovate, green leaves that develop various hues of red, purple, and orange in fall. It has spectacular, sweet-scented, white spring blossoms. This tree has huge, long thorns growing on its branches. It thrives in well-drained soils and full sun.

7. Lavalle Hawthorn

  • Crataegus x lavallei
  • Height: 15-20 ft
Crataegus × lavallei
Acabashi Crataegus × lavallei

Lavalle Hawthorn is a hybrid Hawthorn Tree discovered in France. It’s an erect tree with an oval to rounded form. Its branches are covered in thorns and narrow, elliptic, toothed, dark green leaves that turn bronze-red in fall. This tree features white, foul-smelling blooms that give way to orange-red fruits. Lavelle Hawthorn thrives in full sun and free-draining, moist soils.

8. Black Hawthorn

  • Crataegus douglassii
  • Height: 10-25 ft
Black Hawthorn Crataegus douglasii
Tom Brandt Black Hawthorn Crataegus douglasii

Black Hawthorn is a compact tree with a rounded crown. This thorny tree features spreading branches covered with a dense canopy of fan-shaped, glossy, leathery leaves that turn orange, red, and yellow in fall. It features white blossoms that give way to clusters of black or dark purple fruits. This naturally shrubby tree is an ideal hedge plant or security barrier.

9. Ohio Pioneer Hawthorn

  • Crataegus punctata ‘Ohio Pioneer’
  • Height: 30 ft

Ohio Pioneer Hawthorn is a recently introduced Hawthorn variety with a low, rounded form. This slow-growing tree thrives in full sun and moist, free-draining soils. This thornless Hawthorn features striking clusters of white blooms and showy red pomes. It has dense, green foliage that develops an outstanding orange hue in the fall.

10. Winter King Southern Hawthorn

  • Crataegus viridis ‘winter king’
  • Height: 25-35 ft
Crataegus viridis Winter King
David J. Stang Crataegus viridis Winter King

Winter King Southern Hawthorn is a popular, disease-resistant cultivar of Green Hawthorn. It’s popularly grown for its copious flower growth, large pomes, and silver-barked stems. This tree features attractive fall foliage with scarlet and purple hues. Unlike many Hawthorn varieties, this tree does not have spines or thorns, barring a few branches.

11. Chinese Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus pinnatifida 
  • Height: 15-23 ft
Crataegus pinnatifida
Lokal_Profil Crataegus pinnatifida

Chinese Hawthorn is a small, shrub-like deciduous tree with an irregular, rounded crown and thin, gray bark. This low-maintenance tree features clusters of large, globular, edible, red-hued, apple-like fruits. Its dense crown is decked with ovate-shaped, pointy-edged, lobed leaves. Chinese Hawthorn yields clusters of white flowers that grow as corymbs and blossom in spring.

12. Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn

  • Crataegus crus-galli var. inermis
  • Height: 20-30 ft
Crataegus crus galli var inermis
K M Crataegus crus galli var inermis

Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn is a distinctively thornless variety of Hawthorn Trees. It thrives in full sun and most types of well-drained soils. You can grow it as a privacy screen, flowering hedge, and specimen tree. It features dense, green foliage, red berry-like pomes, and clusters of white spring blossoms.

13. English Hawthorn

  • Crataegus laevigata
  • Height: 26 ft
Crataegus laevigata
Stefan Barima Crataegus laevigata

Also known as Woodland Hawthorn, English Hawthorn is a flowering, decorative tree that thrives in moist, well-draining soils. Native to Europe, this Hawthorn Tree produces flat-topped clusters of 5-petaled, white or pale pink spring blossoms that give way to dense clusters of red berry-like pomes. It features glossy, ovate, lobed green leaves.

14. Green Hawthorn

  • Crataegus viridis
  • Height: 25-35 ft

Green Hawthorn is a Southeastern US native tree with a dense, rounded, wide-spreading crown. It features gray stems decked with ovate to elliptic, serrate, glossy dark green leaves that turn red and purple in fall. This thorny tree yields 5-petaled, fragrant, white blooms that give way to small, red pomes. It thrives in full sun and well-drained, dry to medium soils.

15. Western Mayhaw Hawthorn

  • Crataegus opaca 
  • Height: 12-36 ft

Western Mayhaw Hawthorn tends to grow in swampy locations in the southeastern US. This tree features oval, dark green, glossy leaves and clusters of white or pink blossoms. The flowers give way to clusters of bright red, apple-like fruits. These sour fruits are used to make jams, jellies, and preserves.

16. Copenhagen Hawthorn

  • Crataegus intricate
  • Height: 4-10 ft

Copenhagen Hawthorn is a small-sized, deciduous, native tree with curved thorns. It features fragrant, showy, white, cup-shaped blossoms that give way to edible, red-burgundy pomes known as haws. Its branches are decked with green, simple, alternate, elliptic, lobed leaves. This tree thrives in full sun and a wide variety of well-drained soils.

17. Dotted Hawthorn

  • Crataegus punctata
  • Height: 25-30 ft
Crataegus punctata
Plant Image Library Crataegus punctata

Native to eastern North America, Dotted Hawthorn is a deciduous, slender-spined tree with a broad-rounded crown and horizontal branches. It features clusters of 5-petaled, white, fragrant blossoms that give way to abundant, red fruits with distinctive white dots. It has serrate-margined, slightly lobed, obovate, dark green leaves that turn red in fall. This tree thrives in full sun and well-drained, moist soils.

18. May Hawthorn

  • Crataegus aestivalis
  • Height: 12-36 ft

May Hawthorn Trees grow in swampy areas in the southeastern United States. These trees feature wedge-shaped, lobed, toothed, green leaves and white or pinkish-white blossoms that grow singularly or in small clusters. They also yield burgundy-hued, berry-like, sour-tasting mayhaw fruits. They thrive in full sun and a wide variety of free-draining soils.

19. Single-Seeded Hawthorn

  • Crataegus monogyna
  • Height: 15-45 ft

Also known as May Blossom and Common Hawthorn, Single-Seeded Hawthorn is a small, thorny tree that thrives in moist, well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade. It features obovate, lobed, dark green leaves that turn orange-yellow in fall. It yields clusters of scented, creamy-white blooms with dainty pink anthers. The flowers give way to clusters of edible red berry-like fruits.

20. Scarlet Hawthorn

  • Crataegus coccinea
  • Height: 20-25 ft

Scarlet Hawthorn is a deciduous tree with a dense, broad-rounded crown. This thorny tree features ovate, dark green, lobed leaves that turn orange to purple-red in fall. It produces white blossoms that give way to rounded, scarlet fruits. This tree thrives in full sun and well-drained, medium moist soils. This tree grows well in full sun and medium moist soils.

21. Azarole Hawthorn

  • Crataegus azarolus 
  • Height: 15 ft
Crataegus azarolus
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz Crataegus azarolus

Azarole Hawthorn is a small, self-fertile, ornamental tree or shrub. Its branches are decked with beautiful, glossy, dark green leaves and stout thorns. This hardy and disease-resistant tree features abundant clusters of white spring flowers that give way to small, red berries-like, edible fruits. This tree grows well in full sun and a wide variety of well-drained soils.

22. Tejocote Hawthorn

  • Crataegus baroussana
  • Height: 23 ft

Tejocote Hawthorn is a slightly thorny, deciduous Hawthorn planted as an ornamental tree. It features rhombic, lobed, sharply serrated green leaves. It produces white, cup-shaped blossoms with pink anthers. The blooms give way to spherical, red fruits. This tree thrives in full sun to medium shade and well-drained, moisture-retentive, loamy soils.

23. Caughnawaga Hawthorn

  • Crataegus durobrivensis
  • Height: 13-16 ft

Caughnawaga Hawthorn was discovered in New York in May 1990. It’s a rare, small, round-headed Hawthorn hybrid. It features large, dark green leaves that develop orange and red hues in fall. It produces clusters of large, white spring blossoms with pink stamens. The blooms give way to dark crimson autumn fruits. This tree thrives in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soils.

24. Dodge Hawthorn

  • Crataegus dodgei 
  • Height: 30 ft

Dodge Hawthorn is a deciduous tree with dull gray, thorny stems. This tree features glabrous, ovate to broadly elliptic, lobed, serrate leaves. It produces clusters of blossoms that give way to yellow or yellow-orange, dull orange, or red pomes. This tree tends to thrive in full sun and a wide variety of well-drained soils.

25. Ellwanger Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus pedicellata
  • Height: 23 ft
Crataegus pedicellata
4028mdk09 Crataegus pedicellata

Ellwanger Hawthorn is a deciduous shrub or small tree that grows in semi-shaded lands in sandy, loamy, and clay soils that are wet or slightly moist. This drought-tolerant tree features serrate, lobed, green leaves and clusters of white, 5-petaled blossoms with yellow anthers. The blooms give way to orange-red pomes.

26. Engelmann Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus engelmannii Sarg
  • Height: 20 ft

Engelmann Hawthorn is a deciduous Hawthorn with a broad-spreading, rounded, flat-topped crown. It features spiny twigs and alternate, simple elliptic to ovate, hairy, shiny, and dark green leaves. This tree produces 5-petaled, white blossoms that give way to orange-red pomes. This tree grows well in full sun to partial shade and free-draining soils.

27. European Black Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus nigra
  • Height: 20 ft

European Black Hawthorn is a deciduous tree that grows well in loamy, sandy, and clay soils that are moist or wet. It thrives in full sun or semi-shade. This drought-tolerant, thorny tree forms a rounded head of stiff branches adorned with green leaves. It features white blossoms that give way to rounded, almost black fruits.

28. Fireberry Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus chrysocarpa
  • Height: 30 ft
Crataegus chrysocarpa
Matt Lavin Crataegus chrysocarpa

Fireberry Hawthorn is a deciduous Hawthorn with ovate, deeply toothed, alternate, fresh-green leaves that turn yellow in fall. It features fragrant, white, 5-petaled blossoms that grow together in clusters. The blooms give way to apple-like, green-hued fruits that turn red in autumn. This tree grows well in full sun and acidic to alkaline soils with free drainage.

29. Frosted/Frosty Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus pruinosa 
  • Height: 20 ft

Frosty Hawthorn is a native deciduous shrub or small tree that grows in woodland margins, stream banks, rocky hillsides, and roadsides. It features straight thorns, white spring blossoms, and red fruits that have a whitish, waxy coating. This tree has irregular branches adorned with green foliage. This low-maintenance tree prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soils.

30. Pear Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus calpodendron 
  • Height: 17 ft

Pear Hawthorn is a deciduous tree with a low, wide-spreading, flat-topped or rounded crown and crooked trunk. It features alternate, simple, hairy, serrate, dull, yellowish-green leaves. It produces flat-topped clusters of showy, sweetly scented, pinkish-white blossoms that give way to pear-shaped, edible, shiny, orange-red pomes. This tree grows in calcium-rich soils in full sun.

31. Kansas Hawthorn

  • Crataegus coccinioides 
  • Height: 20 ft

Kansas Hawthorn is a small, deciduous tree with brilliant red fall foliage. It features simple, lobed, teethed, green leaves. It also produces showy white blossoms and small clusters of fleshy, edible, cherry-like fruits. This drought-resistant tree grows well in a wide variety of well-drained soils under full sun.

32. One-Flower Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus uniflora
  • Height: 2-12 ft

One-Flower Hawthorn is a deciduous shrub or small tree with stout trunks, a rounded crown, and crooked branches. This heat-tolerant tree has straight, fine thorns and solitary, fragrant, spring white or cream-hued blossoms. It grows glossy, green leaves that turn yellow and burgundy in fall. This tree grows well in well-drained, organic soils and full sun.

33. Quebec Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus submollis
  • Height: 23 ft
Crataegus submollis
Nadiatalent Crataegus submollis

Quebec Hawthorn is a deciduous Hawthorn with a stout trunk. It typically grows in forests, meadows, fields, shrublands, and thickets. This shrubby tree features simple, lobed, teethed, green leaves. It also grows red, berry-like, fleshy pomes that attract birds. This tree grows well in full sun to light shade and well-drained soils.

34. River Hawthorn 

  • Crataegus rivularis
  • Height: 12-36 ft
River hawthorn
Andrey Zharkikh River hawthorn

River Hawthorn is a perennial Hawthorn with simple, alternate, elliptic, or oblong to lanceolate, serrate, deciduous, dull green leaves. It features 5-petaled, white spring blossoms that give way to fleshy, red fruits that attract birds and insects. This tree grows well in full sun and a wide variety of well-drained soils.

35. Woolly Hawthorn

  • Crataegus lanuginosa
  • Height: ­25 ft

Woolly Hawthorn is a perennial Hawthorn tree that can also be grown as a shrub. This tree features alternate, deciduous, green leaves. It also produces terminal clusters of white blossoms that bloom in April. It produces clusters of fleshy fruits. This tree thrives in full sun and well-drained soils.