Any reasons to keep Hawthorns?

[seedspreader]

I've got two hawthorns in my side yard. They are a pain (literally) to mow around?

They are nice in the spring, but I am not particularly fond of them. The Woodpeckers have them tore up pretty good... it was while sap was flowing. I don't know if this is the case but they pecked them like crazy... the sap came out and caught a lot of bugs and then the birds were eating them.

So is there a reason to keep them?

[Ralph in N.E.Oh]

They make awesome walking sticks when dried, dethorned, debarked and sanded

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by Ralph in N.E.Oh

They make awesome walking sticks when dried, dethorned, debarked and sanded

You just gave it another nudge closer to getting the axe.

[Old Vet]

It sounds like a good feder for the birds.

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

It sounds like a good feder for the birds.

I was researching and it seems like the actual berries are only eaten by one or two types of bird.

[jessimeredith]

To quote my herbalist handbook, hawthorn:

~dilates blood vessels
~Supports the cardiovascular system
~relieves muscle tension

[sage_morgan]

the word for hawthorne is the same as the word for pink in HoChunk (Winnebago)



yeah, but I can't remember the word.

oh, it's cho-sahng-wa!

[MELOC]

if you plan on getting bees, they make awesome pollen when they have those springtime blossoms as they are so prolific.if you let them get really big, you have very little problem with thorns down low as you can keep them headed up easily enough with pruners. they get about as big as a standard apple tree.

[Old Vet]

Originally Posted by seedspreader

I was researching and it seems like the actual berries are only eaten by one or two types of bird.

How many birds were eating the bugs?

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

How many birds were eating the bugs?

2 wood peckers that damaged the trees quite a bit.

[fretti]

I adore Hawthorn trees, thorns and all. They provide great protection for smaller birds from larger birds. Last year, my robins cleaned the tree of berries in nothing flat. Last Sunday, I watched a Cedar Waxwing eating the berries.

You WANT to attract birds to your garden. I think this article nicely sums up some reasons. There's much more at the link:

Why Birds Are Important to the Gardener
Birds are of particular importance to the vegan organic gardener and allotment holder because they consume many of the insects that damage plants. They are, therefore, very useful to have around if you want to avoid using pesticides and other harmful chemicals.

Thrushes, for example, eat slugs and snails and can thus prevent much damage to your crops. Wrens eat many types of insects and their larvae. Blue tits and great tits adore caterpillars and green woodpeckers will soon polish off a colony of ants. In fact many species of birds feed mainly on insects while they are breeding and then switch to a diet consisting mainly of seeds or berries in the autumn and winter. The parent birds are kept amazingly busy gathering insects for their young throughout the breeding season.

Great tits, for example, can make up to 800 trips a day in order to supply their young with food, their diet consisting mainly of caterpillars. Now that's an awful lot of garden pests!

[NickieL]

I planted washington hawthorn on purpose----the berries are edible!

I also discovered wild pear haw along the crick by my home...also edible

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by fretti

I adore Hawthorn trees, thorns and all. They provide great protection for smaller birds from larger birds. Last year, my robins cleaned the tree of berries in nothing flat. Last Sunday, I watched a Cedar Waxwing eating the berries.

You WANT to attract birds to your garden. I think this article nicely sums up some reasons. There's much more at the link:

oh, I WANT, and like birds and we have no shortage of them... these two trees are in the middle of the side yard (it's yard now, not sure what I will develop it into eventually) on a hill.

[MELOC]

they make awesome firewood if you need to cull them. the thorns make it tough to deal with, but it is an awesome burning wood.

[woadleaf]

Because you must *not* ever cut down a hawthorn. (Irish superstition, the fairies live there and will seek revenge) Of course, if you're not Irish, there's nothing stopping you.

[fordson major]

you can make an awsome wine outa the berries! being irish we leave ours in the fence rows! dutch neighbor hopped the fence and chopped down one of our hawthorns on the property line, been sick ever since! (not that i'm superstitious, just cautious, dont walk under ladders, cross black puddy tats or like the number 13!)

[JJ Grandits]

I hunt grouse and hawthornes are like a magnet to me. Aside from that, if they bug you cut them down.There are thousands of other plants that attract birds you can plant where you want.

[Rita]

The fruit is good for the heart/vascular/hbp and I read it makes nice jam/jelly but my tree never has berries so haven't tried it yet.

[GBov]

The berries make a lovely jelly mixed with blackberries and crab apples and a few handfulls of elderberries thrown in.

But if you dont like the trees, cut em down and plant something else that you do

[marvella]

are they near enough to your house to provide shade in summer? if so it can help reduce cooling costs.