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Hawthorn (Bundle of 3) | Spring 2027
$79.99
Reliable shipping
Flexible returns
Ripening
Will it finish before your first hard freeze?
Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceNo strong resistance
- 2 Cedar rusts : Susceptible, 2 of 5
- 2 Fire blight : Susceptible, 2 of 5
Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.
See it on our unusual fruit disease chart (opens in a new tab)At a glance: This is Arnold hawthorn (Crataegus arnoldiana), rated hardy to zone 3 in our ratings (winters to -40°F), and not self-fertile, so it needs another hawthorn nearby as a pollenizer.
| Species | Arnold hawthorn, Crataegus arnoldiana. |
|---|---|
| Hardy to | Zone 3 to 8. A bare number means the whole of zone 3, colder half included (winters to -40°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator. |
| Chill hours | About 800 hours (400 to 1,500). Our estimate. No published figure exists for this variety yet. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources. |
| Pollination | Needs Cross-Pollination. Bloom group 4 of 7 (mid), late spring here. These are seedlings, so the plants in the bundle differ from each other. Plant them near one another for the best berry set. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. Pollination Charts. |
| Good for | Feeding wildlife (9/10), pollinators (8/10), windbreaks and hedgerows (7/10), ornamental value (6/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists. |
| Deer | Seldom badly damaged by deer. |
| What you get | Bare root. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out. |
Overview
This is Arnold hawthorn (Crataegus arnoldiana), a small, slow-growing, thorny tree that tops out around 15 to 20 feet. It's tough and adaptable and will grow in just about any soil you give it. It's proven itself on the northern plains, where the USDA's plant materials center in Bismarck, North Dakota released a seed strain of it for windbreaks and wildlife plantings.
Is It Native?
Not technically. Arnold hawthorn comes from the Northeast, so it isn't native to Montana or anywhere in the West. Our native black hawthorn is what we'd rather be selling, and until we can start propagating it again, this one's serving as a placeholder. It's still a hardy hawthorn that feeds birds and pollinators the same way.
The Fruit
The fruit is big for a hawthorn, bright red and over half an inch across, and it ripens in late summer. It's edible fresh and makes good jelly and syrup (spit out the seeds). Birds and other wildlife go after it, and the dense thorny branches give songbirds safe cover for nesting.
Good for Wildlife and You
The fruit and flowers aren't just for wildlife. They have medicinal uses too. Hawthorn is known to be good for the heart.
A Pollinator Magnet
Excellent for attracting pollinators to your orchard. These trees will bring in native pollinators and help promote a healthy, diverse insect population.
Disease
Like most hawthorns, it can get fireblight and cedar rust. Keep it away from junipers if you can.
Plant Size
Our Spring 2027 plants are roughly 2-3 ft. tall with a well established root system.
Hardy to zone 3.
Questions we get about Arnold hawthorn
Does Arnold hawthorn need a pollenizer?
Yes. It needs pollen from another hawthorn that blooms at about the same time. These are seedlings, so the plants in the bundle differ from each other. Plant them near one another for the best berry set.
How cold hardy is Arnold hawthorn?
We rate Arnold hawthorn hardy to zone 3, which means winters down to about -40°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.
How many chill hours does Arnold hawthorn need?
About 800 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 400 and 1,500. Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.
Is Arnold hawthorn native?
Not to Montana or the West. It's from the Northeast. We're carrying it as a placeholder until we can start propagating our native black hawthorn again.
What is Arnold hawthorn good for?
Our top use scores for Arnold hawthorn are feeding wildlife (9/10), pollinators (8/10), windbreaks and hedgerows (7/10), ornamental value (6/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.
Is Hawthorn disease resistant?
No. It's prone to cedar rusts and fire blight. Our unusual fruit disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.
Will deer eat Arnold hawthorn?
Not badly. Deer may nibble it, but they seldom do real damage.
What arrives, and when does Arnold hawthorn ship?
A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. We guarantee our plants bud out. If one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.