I saw a few Mayhaw trees at Raymond MS Saturday. This piqued my interest as I have not seen them growing in North Alabama though I know they are adapted to the area. Who grows them? and in what general area? Would you recommend adding them to the list of fruit bearing trees for southern growers?
I canât remember my varieties but I just planted 4. 2 early types and 2 late types. A couple are hybrids. I planted them where my gardens are always wet. Not much will grow food wise in the wet zone but the mayhaws will. The flooded bad this year and loved it. The fruits are strange. Bitter astringent but cooked and sweetened are best. I could never see growing them unless you love them. No point in taking up the space.
I grow a lot of mayhaw trees. I think I have like 14-15 named selections/cultivars. Mayhaw is a big deal down here! The Louisiana Mayhaw Association is the best resource available for mayhaw, and anyone interested in mayhaw should consider joining the association.
Just made another 10 quarts of juice Sunday night to be made into jelly. Juice sells for up to $40/Gallon. Btw mayhaw jelly is the most delicious jelly money can buy, IMHO.
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I am interested in mayhaws.
How far north will they grow/ produce ?
Any northern growers ? Iam in Wv.
Can I gaft these onto Apple ?
Or does anyone have seed I can start to graft onto latter.
Whatâs the best way to get started with these ?
I read they are naturally an understory tree ,do they produce well in shade / sun ?
Are these the same or very similar to the âhawâ fruit that the Chinese make into haw flakes, as well as candied haw-on-a-stick?
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I thought that mayhaws being a Southeast native would be an easy, disease-resistant fruit to grow in my part of zone 7 North Carolina, but the two trees I bought from Hidden Springs have done very poorly. One tree died from disease. Can cedar rusts kill trees? The other tree is growing fine, but the fruit is pretty much all ruined by cedar rust every year. (Before the first tree completely died, I grafted a branch into the other tree so that it would still get pollinated.) Maybe in an area without eastern red cedars theyâd be easy to grow.
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Hey Hillbillyhort, not sure if crataegus opaca or aestivalis will grow that far north but itâs worth a shot. The blooms may get zapped by late freeze. I visited a man who had opaca grafted onto apple but it wasnât growing well and my have had a longer term incompatibility. But they can be grafted onto crus-galli or marshallii as well. I can send you some seed if you want to try, I can also send scion from the latest blooming varieties I have.
Yes I think they are quite similar but Iâve never grown any of the Asian hawthorns to know for sure. I think they refer to it as âthe tree of hopeâ and use the leaves and tea medicinally.
Man you right Cousinfloyd, cedar rust gives them trouble. I cut down a bunch of cedars near my mayhaws. Many varieties are also quite succeptible to fireblight. I spray a copper/lime Bordeaux mix once in November and again in early February, then Nova throughout the wet spring time. Kocide is another good fungicide Theyâre working on getting ag streptomycin approved for mayhaw but I tried it last couple years on instances of fire light and it didnât seem to help much, maybe I used it wrong or something I donât know.
Have had mayhaws grafted and growing here in KY, about 70 mi NW of Nashville TN, for well over a decade. Native cockspur hawthorn works fine as understock.
Cedar rust is a major problem, though some years I do manage to harvest enough to make a small batch of jelly.
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Darrell,
Do you know Dr. Richard OâBarr? Noted pecan guy, now living at Arab, AL.
I got scions of his âOâBarr Colossalâ mayhaw from him some years backâŚbiggest fruit Iâve seen on one.
I donât know him, but now that I have a name and location, will try to look him up.
Hey Lucky, hope all has been well. Speaking of, I got two real nice looking OâBarr Colossal from some wood you had sent me last year. Itâs an interesting tree for sure. Have you noticed the leaf shape to be unique in that it is longer and thinner?
Looking forward to fruit in a couple years. Thank you again for the OâBarr colossal wood.
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