Hi,
We're considering several trees to put into our back yard. Among them is
the hawthorn which seems to have several things going for it -- pretty
flowers, nice color in the fall, fruit that is attractive to birds, and
reasonable size.

We're in zone 5,by the way.

However, one site I found says that the flowers have an unpleasant odor.
Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks
Patricia
Champaign, IL

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In article , "Pat"
wrote:

Hi,
We're considering several trees to put into our back yard. Among them is
the hawthorn which seems to have several things going for it -- pretty
flowers, nice color in the fall, fruit that is attractive to birds, and
reasonable size.

We're in zone 5,by the way.

However, one site I found says that the flowers have an unpleasant odor.
Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks
Patricia
Champaign, IL

Their flowers (which don't last more than two weeks of May) have an
indifferent odor but not unpleasant. The berries are much more
long-lasting for color; could be turned into jelly, as substitute rowan
berries or mixed with apple, though few people bother. I have several
hawthorns that I inherited with the house. I would not have planted them
myself as they do get in the way of paths & movement in the yard, are VERY
thorny, one has to be careful discarding thorny trimmings, pruning barely
keeps them out of the way as they grow back so swiftly, & they self-seed
like sunzubitches.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
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"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to
liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot." -Thomas Jefferson

The flowers are VERY stinky if you put your nose right into a blossom, but
the smell does not usually travel far, thank God - and the blossom time is
not long. The double pink is not nearly as bad as the species white flowers,
so if you like the look of that variety, you can plant it if you want to
avoid the smell. However, it does not berry nearly as profusely as the
species.

Besides being very thorny, they are quite susceptible to rust and then they
make a real mess.
"Pat" wrote in message
...
Hi,
We're considering several trees to put into our back yard. Among them is
the hawthorn which seems to have several things going for it -- pretty
flowers, nice color in the fall, fruit that is attractive to birds, and
reasonable size.

We're in zone 5,by the way.

However, one site I found says that the flowers have an unpleasant odor.
Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks
Patricia
Champaign, IL

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We have one and it is not unattractive, but during bloom it gives off an
odor akin to rotting flesh. I also have to keep it trimmed pretty high
so the thorns don't hurt any children, but it still gets me once in a
while when I forget to duck while mowing the lawn. I don't see a lot of
birds feeding off it, but a lot of people around here put out feeders,
so perhaps our birds are choosy. If it were not an established tree
when we moved in, I would not plant one.

Pat wrote:

Hi,
We're considering several trees to put into our back yard. Among them is
the hawthorn which seems to have several things going for it -- pretty
flowers, nice color in the fall, fruit that is attractive to birds, and
reasonable size.

We're in zone 5,by the way.

However, one site I found says that the flowers have an unpleasant odor.
Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks
Patricia
Champaign, IL

Thanks to all who responded. There is a thornless variety that we've looked
at. But the smell could be a problem and we don't want to upset our
neighbors (or ourselves) so guess we'll keep looking..

Patricia

"Pat" wrote in message
...
Hi,
We're considering several trees to put into our back yard. Among them is
the hawthorn which seems to have several things going for it -- pretty
flowers, nice color in the fall, fruit that is attractive to birds, and
reasonable size.

We're in zone 5,by the way.

However, one site I found says that the flowers have an unpleasant odor.
Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks
Patricia
Champaign, IL

--
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