How to Prune Hawthorn Trees

Wear gloves, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt to protect your skin. Hawthorn has long, pointed spines that can pierce the skin. Part of that is why this plant is very suitable for fencing. Scratches from thorns can also cause redness and itching. If you’re going to be trimming a lot, wear thick, sturdy gloves, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt to prevent scratches. ^[3]

Use sterilized hand-held garden shears to cut dead or diseased shoots. Regardless of the type of pruning pliers you use, you’ll need to spray with a germicidal cleaner to eliminate pathogens or fungi that can damage the hawthorn tree, then dry with a paper towel. Look for black or dry shoots and cut at the base to remove and stimulate new healthy growth. ^[4]

You can also cut away the shoots that cover the bunches of fruit. If you want the hawthorn fruit to receive a lot of sunlight and grow, you can cut the tops of the side shoots that cover the fruit bunches. The fruit of the hawthorn tree when exposed to more sun will ripen and turn orange. ^[5]

Trim the branches to the junction of the branches when reshaping the tree. Find the junction between the 2 branches or at the junction between the lateral bud and the trunk. Prune branches at the junction so that the hawthorn tree can recover from pruning. Cut evenly to make the shape as even and flat as possible. ^[6]

Wait until summer when the fruit clusters are already visible. If you want hawthorn berries to grow, you’ll need to provide them with extra sun. However, do not cut off the branches around the fruit clusters as soon as you see fruit forming in the spring. Wait until summer, when the hawthorn tree turns to focus on growing fruit, you can cut off the shoots and branches that cover the fruit clusters. ^[7]

Shape or prune the tree vigorously in late winter. If you really want to prune your hawthorn tree, wait until it stops growing. Late winter is the right time for this. You will easily see dead branches that need to be removed and can cut the entire plant to stimulate new growth in the spring. Remember that hawthorn trees do not require heavy pruning, unless you want the tree to have a distinctive shape. ^[8]

If you are shaping a hedge, prune the tree during its growing season. Hawthorn is a great hedge plant, but you will need to prune it regularly to keep it in good shape. During the growing season like spring and summer, you can use a hedge trimmer to cut down about 15cm from the spot where you plan to make the hedge. Then you will let the tree grow to fill the gap. Pruning your tree to encourage healthy new growth will help you create a thicker hedge. ^[9]

• Remember that hedge hawthorn trees may not bloom or produce brilliant fruit if you prune vigorously.

If you prune too much, the plant may not produce enough flowers. Hawthorn trees need many flowers to bear fruit. If you prune too much, you can accidentally cut off flower buds. That means the hawthorn tree will not have enough flowers to bear fruit next season, even though the green shoots are very strong. ^[11]