English Hawthorn

Crataegus laevigata, the English or midland hawthorn, is a small European tree fifteen to twenty feet high and as wide, with a dense rounded head on thorny branches. Clusters of white flowers open in April and May, followed by small red haws that persist into autumn. The lobed leaves are glossy and dark, and the thorns are substantial.

It is among the more disease-prone small trees, and cedar-apple rust and fungal leaf spot regularly strip the foliage in hot humid summers, leaving a half-bare tree by August. Where those conditions apply, plant a rust-resistant green hawthorn such as Crataegus viridis instead, which gives the same flowers, fruit and scale with far fewer problems.