Yep i grew up in louisiana on wild mayhaw jelly and i love the berries fresh they are tart and delicious! I have a small wild one growing here in kansas z6b that i brought up from louisiana 3 years ago it took -12F fine. Im hoping to add some more or perhaps graft a couple named varieties to mine in a year or 3. 
They grow native in louisiana bottomland and often a native bog that is a wide low wet area is called a “mayhaw branch” down there by rural locals. But yeah they will grow on top of mississippi clay hills too(i have a friend there with a planting of nice trees on top of a high dry clay hill). Mine i brought here to kansas i put in the creek bottom it loves it! But i imagine they will grow in any decent soil east of kansas in zone 6 or warmer seeing out east yall have more rain. In drier places like here in kansas, the moist creekbottom is probably a more important factor but they are obviously a very hardy tree capable of doing ok in most any reasonable situation! And the same info goes for the native bay tree, i brought one of those up with the mayhaw!(down south they season gumbo with its leaves). And a palmetto too! Ive came to the conclusion that louisiana native vegutation is hardy to zone 6!!
Yep, chinese haws are very susceptible to CAR. If you decide to plant one, spray immediately assuming CAR is a big issue otherwise your young tree may be deformed by the rust very badly. I am not talking only about leaves, but shoots, branches, and even trunk. That’s the lesson I’ve learned.
I was surprised by the tasteless of my first year red sun haw fruits, or Shan Zha. It has almost no sugar in it. It could be my location with too much shade or just it’s a young tree. But the jelly was very good, after plenty of sugar added, it’s true Shan Zha jelly taste.
I have ordered a couple Mayhaw trees from an on line nursery which are coming to me in the spring.
I was wondering about planting location. Do they help in any way to polinate my apple trees? Is there any benefit in planting them close to apples, or any reasons to plant them away from my apple trees?
I am in Central Kentucky.
I ordered Big Red, and Mason’s Superberry.
Thank you in advance for any advice you may have.
Happy New Year!
John in Kentucky
John,
To my knowledge, mayhaws and apples will not cross-pollenize - and may not even bloom concurrently (I have never spent any time paying attention to bloom periods on anything here.).
Only reason I can think of to plant them close to apples is if you intend to spray all your pomefruits for cedar(juniper) rust, which will be your biggest disease/pest issue.
I ordered a stick of chinese haw from @Marta this year. Looking forward to trying it. Anyone care to comment on its flavor? Im unsure what to expect in my zone 5 location. Ive eaten mexican haws jarred in syrup. They were pretty tasty and huge. Ive found some good selections of native haw here. Most of them are bland and mealy, but every now and again Ive found a good one thats worth munching on. I found the best yet last fall near the summit of a local peak. It was pretty good size too.
Amazing how they can grow on such ledgy hard scrabble, as they often do at my place. If you ever try to dig one up, it’s incredible what a taproot they have. Theyre one tough tree, thats for sure!
Chinese hawthorne grows in Chicagoland zone5 without much difficulty. What cultivar name that you bought from Marta? Some cultivars are more hardier than others. Some are grafted on Mayhaw which may not survive in zone5
Im not sure if this is the same as ‘Red Sun’, mentioned earlier. If so, it sounds like it doesn’t have great flavor. @Marta, Id be curious to know what you know about the cultivar, how it tastes, etc. Its only scionwood. I have Crataegus coming out my ears here, which is part of the reason Im interested in tasty haws and other graft compatible fruits. Ive fooled with pears years back, and did find OH seemed fairly compatible. Medlar grafts well.
Yes, this is Red Sun. Somehow the name got truncated after I moved this tree into this new location. I should fix it. I think the fruits are ok to snack on them in the orchard, and I ate them occasionally. However, my Chinese neighbors really love them. I did let them harvest them all, and they were very happy about it. They are considered medicinal in China. I don’t know how they use them, but they eat them fresh too.
I’m on a hunt for Crataegus pontica, and would like to hear if anyone has it in the US and can supply the wood. I got seeds from Arnold Arboretum at some point, but nothing germinated.
Are these Chinese Hawthorn , a type of sweet Chinese Hawthorn with red and yellow colored fruits? I know some one sales the plants
No, pontica is from Central Asia
I assume Crataegus seeds benefit much by animal digestion, otherwise Id think theyd need scarification. They might need double stratification too. That always throws me for a loop. Ive run into it with a few other species. Cornus mas being one.
I actually opened them all, and most were empty. The four kernels I found in those seeds never germinated.
sheesh.
it doesnt sound like this would be helpful, but I found this recent article:
Thank you. Next time I come across those seeds I should try harder
Years ago, I was sent some Chinese haw fruit leather. Reminded me, taste wise, of Cornelian cherry dogwood (C.mas) fruits.
curious about this. are these seedlings? Have you tried the fruit? If so, how was it? Im interested in scions of any and all good hawthorns. If the person in question has scionwood available, Id be glad to know. thanks
No. I only know they are available to purchase if I decided to buy one or both cultivars. I don’t think they are hardy enough for my zone. They are southern ShanZha that are sweet. Friend of mine tried the red one and said tasted like regular ShanZha without the tart. As far as I know they are grafted to unknown rootstock.
The whole Crataegus genus is called ShanZha genus
gotcha. Crataegus is a confusing genus too. Sounds like these may not be pinnatifida. From what I understand, most hawthorns are cold temperate species, with relatively few that grow in warmer climates. I believe N. America is considered the center of diversity for the genus