Hawthorn Chopping and re-growth

[Nishant]

Hello Friends,

I live in London and have a hawthorn tree that has a trunk around two inches in diameter and has been chopped midway. I see lots of shoots emerging from the top. Thats usual and well know behavior.

What will happen if I were to make a cut in the stem longitudinally one side and hollow out some wood. Will new shoots emerge all along the full length of the longitudinal cut? So that I will be able to get more shoots spread out along the length of trunk?

Is it worth trying? This can starting material for cascade style howthorn

Any experience/suggestions

Additionally does anyone know if the Hawthorn can survive in a hot country, unlike UK.

 

[0soyoung]

You can try it, but I doubt you will get those results. It is all about two antogonistic hormones

1. auxin that flows downward toward the roots in the cambium and suppresses budding below
2. cytokinins that are made in the roots and are in the xylem (wood) stream of water and minerals that are drawn up the tree by transpiration.

When one prunes/chops a stem, the sources of auxin are removed, so the auxin level in the remaining stem/bole drops. Cytoknins near the chop then win out and buds are released. Once the buds are released, they make auxin. Hence the 'usual and well know behavior'.

The little catch-22 is that buds tend to exist only at nodes (points along a stem that previously had a leaf).

I encourage you to follow through with your interest (with the well-established 'conventional wisdom' in mind). Try this with other species as they all behave somewhat differently. It will be entertaining and educational regardless of whether you simply confirm conventional wisdom or put yourself in line for a Nobel prize. This kind of stuff is fun, IMHO.

 

[M. Frary]

I've found that hawthorns will bud out all over the trunks like an elm if you cut them back hard in the spring.
Making a cut vertically down the trunk will only scar it.

 

[defra]

I've found that hawthorns will bud out all over the trunks like an elm if you cut them back hard in the spring.
Making a cut vertically down the trunk will only scar it.

I seccond that!
I think they will survive in a Warmer climate than the uk but only if they will go into dormancy long enough each year....

 

[0soyoung]

Additionally does anyone know if the Hawthorn can survive in a hot country, unlike UK.

Brian Van Fleet has a very nice hawthorn in Birmingham, AL that is a cool USDA zone 8 (i.e., 7b/8a) which is about the same as most of England. Hardiness zones, however are only about the average cold temperatures. Birmingham, AL experiences 3 to 4 months with daily highs above 86F. I don't think anywhere in the UK is even close to as hot a summer climate.

 

[defra]

Additionally does anyone know if the Hawthorn can survive in a hot country, unlike UK.

@0soyoung i think he means a other country

 

[Cottie]

Hi hawthorns do quite well in Tasmania ( Australia) we regularly get days over 35c in summer

 

[0soyoung]

@0soyoung i think he means a other country

Alabama is in the USA which is not England.
There are Crataegus varieties that are native to all of the continental US and Alaska as well as Canada and Mexico. The berries have long been used in Chinese herbal medicine. So, I imagine that they also grow in China (even though rhino horn is also part of the lore and there clearly are no rhonoceri in China). But there is a variety, crataegus pinnatifida, known as 'Chinese Hawberry'.

 

[Nishant]

Hello All, Thanks for your replies. I have into Bonsai hobby here in London and will eventually be going back to India, my home country. So just want to work on only the plants that will survive there. I am thinking of Pyracantha, Hawthorn and Privets.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[0soyoung]

India is a big place with varied climates. Look for trees that do well in the area where you will be living. Otherwise, you will have to go to great efforts with special enclosures and etc. If you will be in southern India, you will want to concentrate on tropical species just like people in Florida do. On the other hand, you would need to be in the northern half of the country to grow hawthorn as zone 9 or lower is required (but you could put the leafless tree in a refrigerator for 6 weeks or so to satisfy its bud-chill requirements).

 

[Nishant]

Thanks All for your replies.

My citi in India falls in zone-11 as per the map Osoyoung suggested.

When I go to my home country next time, I will take a small plant of the species I am interested. In a matter of one year, I will come to know which species could survive the climate there.

 

[TomB]

Will new shoots emerge all along the full length of the longitudinal cut?

No. You may get some adventitious buds at a few on the trunk (at places where there was once a shoot, as Osoyoung says), but you're unlikely to get anything along the edges of the cut.

Have you looked into plant import / export regulations? I think it's pretty unlikely you'd be able to take a plant with you, without major hassles at least. Better to wait, and buy native plants when you go back.

 

[Nishant]

Hey TomB, Thanks for broaching the issue of import/export regulation.

Unless the species is a prohibited one, the custom is happy to let plants go if it not for commercial purpose. I have taken plants from UK to India ( and vice-versa ) and customs never caused any hassle. I just walk to them and tell them what plants I have and the reason being just gardening pursuits.