Hawthorn??

[cjay]

anyone familier with a hawthorn Crataegus alba phena? cannot find a reference to it anywhere.

CJ

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Colin,

Sounds like a cultivar name. That should be 'Alba Plena', and it means double white flowers.

Double flowers also means sterile, so no berries, so no good for birds - don't plant one!

Michael

[cjay]

Thanks I thought you would help. They have been planted as saplings along a hedgerow bordering Dunwich Forest. In Suffolk.

CJ

[Joern Lehmhus]

Hi Michael, Hi Colin, as far as I know from own experience, double flowers in hawthorn do not mean it doesn´t produce berries. Here they do produce berries, as good as those with normal flowers.
Allthough in general double flowers often do not produce fruit; e.g. in double flowered sweet cherries for example.

Jörn

[Brian Stone]

The variety 'Rosea Flore Pleno' has pink, double flowers and produces a reduced crop of berries. A good compromise if you want a showy tree and something for the birds. The deep red "Paul's Scarlet" does not produce berries.