A hawthorn is a good option if you want your garden to be pet-friendly. Give this article a read if you want to know how they are planted and how to benefit from them.
Hawthorn, or hawthorn, is a particularly robust and thorny tree, therefore, it is suitable as a plant to protect the garden. It has white flowers and sweet red fruits. The hawthorn can be the size of a bush or reach up to 12 meters in height.
The benefits of having this plant in your garden
This plant adapts to its environment and tolerates practically any soil. Although bitter soil should preferably be avoided. On the other hand, be sure to leave it in a sunny spot, so it can give rise to a lush bloom from May to June.
Hawthorn is ideal for a natural garden that houses pets. They are a true paradise for birds: among the branches they can build their nests wonderfully. From August to October, they also feed on hawthorn berries. Besides birds, many different species of insects and small mammals also benefit from the plant.
How to plant a hawthorn?
Planting a hawthorn hedge is not too complicated if you pay attention to a few things. An important tip beforehand: wear gloves when it comes to hawthorn. The thorns on this plant are very pointed and you don’t want to nail one.
- Get as many hawthorn plants as you need first. As a general rule of thumb: for every meter of coverage you require, depending on the size of the area, you will need approximately five small plants. But don’t hesitate to ask for advice at your garden store or nursery as well.
- If your plants are already in pots, you won’t need to prepare anything else. However, if they are not planted yet and their roots are exposed, you should moisten them well before planting. To do this, place the plants in a bucket of water for 20 minutes.
- If you have already chosen the place where they will be planted, dig a trench about 60 centimeters deep and 40 centimeters wide. A tip: you can put a rope on the ground and stretch it to dig along it, so that the trench, and therefore the hedge, are positioned straight.
- Loosen the soil in the trench well, then set in the hawthorn plants. All of this is better and faster if you work with someone else. Make sure to keep equal distances between the plants.
- Fill the trench with the earth previously dug and press it well with your feet, but also carefully. The plants must be in good condition.
- Finally, water the plants abundantly so that they grow well.
Tip: it is better to sow hawthorn in early autumn, for example, in September.
Care that a hawthorn needs
The hawthorn is a very robust and easy-care plant. The older shrubs of this type of plant can easily be supplied with water and nutrients thanks to their long roots. However, newly planted hawthorn hedges do need a bit more attention:
- Water the hawthorn when the top of the surrounding soil has dried up. Don’t let the plants get too dry, otherwise they will be more susceptible to diseases and pests.
- You can harvest its berries from August to October and use them to make jams or compote.
- There will be no need to prune the hawthorn, especially if the hedge looks very natural. In case it grows too large around other plants or is too big, a little pruning would do well.
