Crataegus monogyna Compacta - Hawthorn

The Crataegus monogyna 'Compacta' is a dwarf variety of White Hawthorn that stands out for its modest growth, well-suited for small gardens, as well as its thornless branches. In spring, the bush is literally covered with simple white flowers that are fragrant and gathered in clusters. In autumn, it adorns itself with yellow foliage and dark red fruits that are decorative and loved by birds. Like all hawthorns, this variety is highly resistant to cold, tolerates sea spray, and pollution. It can be planted without hesitation, even in urban gardens.

The Crataegus monogyna, known as the Single-style Hawthorn, One-style Hawthorn, or Common Hawthorn, is a species native to central and Southern Europe where it grows in deciduous or mixed forests, in open woods, at forest edges, or even in open terrain (meadows). This ornamental and ecological bush is ideal in a hedgerow or as a freestanding shrub. It belongs to the large family of Rosaceae. It is a spiny shrub with a long lifespan, very hard wood, and can reach a height of 10m with a spread of 6m at maturity, with a bushy, dense, and sometimes slightly disorderly habit.

'Compacta' (synonym 'Inermis Compacta') is a dwarf hybrid introduced in 1907 by SPAETH nurseries in Berlin. Its growth is slow, around 5cm per year. Ultimately, it reaches 2 to 3m in height, with a spread of 1 to 2m. Little to no pruning is necessary to maintain the rounded and dense crown of this dwarf hawthorn. The trunk bark is gray-brown, becoming scaly over time, and its short branches do not bear thorns, or exceptionally a few rare thorns. Its foliage is deciduous, absent in winter. It consists of simple leaves measuring 2 to 5cm in length, oval-shaped, deeply lobed with 5 to 7 toothed lobes. The leaf veins diverge. The leaves are dark green and shiny, with a duller underside, turning yellow in autumn before falling. In May-June, numerous fragrant white flowers appear, arranged in dense and flat corymbs of 6 to 12 flowers. The flower corollas have 5 rounded petals and numerous stamens with light pink anthers that turn purple. The flowers measure 1 to 2cm in diameter and are intensely visited by bees. In September-October, numerous spherical red fruits with a single stone called "haws" appear, measuring 6 to 10mm in length. These berries are consumed by birds.

The Crataegus monogyna 'Compacta' adapts to any well-drained soil, even limestone, in a sunny or semi-shaded position. It is undemanding and very hardy, requiring only a balance pruning in February. With its modest growth, it can be planted in gardens of all sizes, especially in a hedgerow. It can be paired with other small flowering shrubs or ornamental fruit shrubs, such as a small 'Royal Beauty' flowering crab apple tree, an early-flowering 'Multiplex' Chinese almond tree, a 'Compactus' winged euonymus for its autumn colours, a 'Hansa' rugosa rose for its beautiful fragrant magenta roses and large decorative orange-red fruits...

Note: The Common Hawthorn hybridises with the Crataegus laevigata (Midland Hawthorn). It was used as a calming agent to treat gout attacks and pleurisy in the Middle Ages. Be careful with overdosing, as it can cause cardiovascular problems. Its wood is used for heating and was formerly used for metal parts and in small carpentry.

The term monogyna comes from the Latin "monogunus", which means "with a single style". This criterion distinguishes this variety from the Crataegus laevigata, which has 2 or 3 styles (pistils) and therefore 2 or 3 stones in the fruit.