As best I can recall (it’s been nearly 25 yrs), the bark on C.crus-galli is SO thin, that my ‘go-to’ bark graft would not work for the toothpick-diameter mayhaw scions, or the pencil-thickness pear scions I was grafting, so I did simple cleft grafts, with good success.
I’ve been thinking I should try chip budding it. Grafting pieces of scion has failed every time.
I got some from Cliff England and I will agree that fresh they were nothing to write home about. But when they were cooked and prepared as tejocotes en dulce their flavor improved dramatically. They were absolutely delicious. Both of my kids wanted more.
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Did you graft them? If so, what rootstock did you use?
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There’s an idea! Thank you!
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Those were such a blight magnet around Topeka back when I was working… 
. I think I still have a blueberry hawthorn after 30 years that stays trouble-free.
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I will let you know how they do this time.
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At this point I’d only recommend planting Washington hawthorn if they’re native in your area. I find them not worth harvesting due to small fruit size, unstable with even thick mature trunks breaking easily if loaded with snow and now showing clear invasive potential with seedlings popping up far from where planted.
Washington does look promising
**Hawthorn, Washington
(Crataegus Phaenopyrum)**
| Size | Light | Hardiness |
|---|---|---|
| 25′ to 30′ | Sun | Zones: 3- 8 |
Promising in what way? There are so many other hawthorns with larger, and more flavorful fruit.
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I think it will make a nice addition to my new 2 acre permaculture garden. They don’t rate a row but they do rate a plant or two. Do you have a bunch that are better or a types you want me to grow? Remember I’m no expert on hawthorn. Some people try to make me one because I might be able to identify some of them. There are plenty of other plants and things I am an expert with.
I think the most disease free hawthorns in my area are some sort of cockspur hawthorn, but apparently resistance varies a lot between different types.
Hawthorns are also kinda infamously complex taxonomically
I’ve got a hawthorn that I grew from seed after tasting the fruit in a friend’s garden. He had purchased it as an azarole hawthorne, but it was clearly misidentified (though very good and worth growing). My seedlings aren’t producing yet so it’s been a few years since I tried the fruit, but I remember it being quite good with maybe some tropical fruit flavors and a reasonably good fruit size. It was being sold under the cultivar name Crataegus azarolus ‘Angelo Rosso’, but I’ve tentatively identified it as Crataegus submollis. Despite the mislabeling at the species level, I do believe that any hawthorn purchased as ‘Angelo Rosso’ should be this specific type so I’d plant one or more if you can source it.
It’s worth noting that the picture these two nurseries are using does match the appearance (both fruit and leaf shape) for the ‘Angelo Rosso’, but is clearly the wrong leaf shape to be a selection of Crataegus azarolus.
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