Indian Hawthorn: Everything You Should Know Before Planting

The possibilities for using Indian hawthorn in your garden are plentiful as this shrub can serve a variety of purposes in any outdoor space. For starters, given the rounded shape of the shrub, it can be a good idea to plant multiple individuals in a row around the exterior of your yard to provide structure and boundaries to the space, especially given the plant's penchant to merge with others of the same species. Clemson Cooperative Extension recommends choosing a design for your Indian hawthorns based on the size of the individual plant. For example, larger shrubs can be planted along a boundary between one property and the next to provide privacy. This same idea also works if your property borders a public sidewalk or passage area. Smaller individuals can serve to delineate garden beds within your yard.

Another popular use of Indian hawthorn in a garden space is to plant individuals in pots or containers. This provides the added advantage of making the plant mobile, allowing you to choose various locations in your yard to place your Indian hawthorn depending on the season, sun movement, etc. Containers are also great for planting Indian hawthorns on a patio or deck, which gives you the opportunity to incorporate their lovely green hue into the color scheme of the space. The main factor in where you plant your Indian hawthorn will be the growing conditions provided by any given location.

If you live in a climate with mild winters, within USDA plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, your Indian hawthorn shrubs can survive outdoors all year round. The Spruce points out that it is especially important that Indian hawthorns are grown in a location with full sun to ensure that they thrive in your outdoor space. Ideally, the soil in which you plant your Indian hawthorns will be on the acidic side and provide adequate drainage to avoid water stagnating around the roots of your plants and leaving them susceptible to root rot and other diseases. 

The amount of water the Indian hawthorn plant needs depends on the time of year and quantity of rainfall in the area in which it lives. During active growing times, the plant will require additional waterings, while in non-active growing times (typically during the winter), you can feel free to cut back. Keep in mind that Indian hawthorn is resistant to drought once matured, meaning erring on the side of less water will likely be the right choice.

Watters Garden Center recommends that gardeners provide a bit of extra fertilizer during every season except winter to ensure the plant is getting enough nutrition. As a bonus, this low-maintenance shrub shouldn't require any pruning during the growing season, allowing you to sit back and watch it produce fragrant-smelling blossoms with a minimal amount of care.

While the Indian hawthorn plant is not toxic, certain varieties produce berries that can be poisonous if ingested, according to Specialty Produce. Since there are dozens of varieties of this plant, it is important to choose one that is perfectly safe to eat. The good news is that Indian hawthorn berries have been used in medicine and cooking for centuries and it is highly likely that you will be able to eat the berries that your shrubs produce. The most common uses for the berries are in jams and sauces. The abundant presence of antioxidant flavonoids has also made the berries a popular treatment for heart problems over the years. 

Given the large variety of Indian hawthorn species that are safe to consume, it shouldn't be hard for you to incorporate a non-toxic variety into your outdoor space if you have young children or pets that tend to eat your plants and flowers. Even if you happen to choose a toxic variety of Indian hawthorn, rest assured that there are steps you can take to minimize or eliminate the risk of harm to your young and/or furry family members. Fencing off areas where your Indian hawthorns grow is a simple way to keep children away from any potentially poisonous berries. Garden Stead offers a couple additional solutions for keeping pets away from toxic plants, including spraying plants with a scent repellant and using clicker or balanced training methods to teach them to ignore the plants.

Indian hawthorns are susceptible to one fatal disease in particular, known as leaf spot, which is caused by a fungus called Entomosporium mespili, according to Clemson Cooperative Extension. The disease presents as small, reddish-brown dots on the leaves of the shrub that spread across the surface and join together, eventually covering the entire area. As a result, the leaves are killed and fall from the plant. The presence of this fungus on an Indian hawthorn plant is highly infectious, spreading quickly from leaf to leaf and plant to plant. If not treated and/or prevented, leaf spot causes serious injury to affected plants and can even obliterate entire rows of Indian hawthorns.

If your Indian hawthorns are suffering from leaf spot, you'll want to spray the leaves with a fungicide when they first show signs of growth in the spring. It is important to follow up every couple of weeks throughout the rest of the season and into the summer and fall to keep the leaves well coated with the fungicide. Make sure you also clear away infected leaves and dispose of them before the fungus has the opportunity to spread. Preventing the disease is as easy as minimizing waterings and taking care to never leave the soil fully saturated. Indian hawthorn shrubs that grow close together without enough space in between each individual plant also increase the risk of leaf spot by reducing air flow.