The Massachusetts Medical Society Grounds

MMS Green Team Plants Winter King Green Hawthorn
In May 2003, the Green Team planted the winning tree from the Arbor Day contest, the Winter King Green Hawthorn. It is located in the garden leading to the back entrance of the building outside the cafeteria. This beautiful tree is the ideal plant for those wanting year-round interest in their garden. Its small size lends itself to even the smallest gardens, and its tolerance in adverse conditions is admirable.

Crataegus viridis 'Winter King', is a member of the rose family. Crataegus translates as "strength", referring to its wood strength and viridis translates as "green", indicative of the greenish bark of the species form. The hawthorn planted is six years old and in maturity, its height will be 20 to 25 feet and the diameter of the canopy will be 20 to 30 feet.

Its foliage is a dull-shiny, dark green to gray-green on the upper leaf surface, and leathery to the touch by mid-Summer (almost looks and feels artificial). It is variable in shape from broadly ovate with two, three, or five lobes, to ovate with no lobes. The fall color is usually chartreuse, but in good years is golden-yellow to yellow-brown in October and November.

The outer bark of this hawthorn is beige-gray, but exfoliates off in sheets or patches to expose a warm cinnamon underbark. This characteristic will form on branches as they mature. Younger branches are silver-green in color, sparsely bearing 1" thorns. Thorns are few and primarily a juvenile trait, occurring on the lower interior canopy of young trees.

The Winter King blooms in mid-May with 2" clusters of white 3/4" blossoms. Like most members of the family Rosaceae, each individual flower has five petals, and like most hawthorns, they tend to be somewhat malodorous.

The brilliant red fruit start forming in late September or early October and are 1/4 to 1/2" in diameter. They cover the tree quite nicely, persisting through the winter months and are eaten by birds and squirrels, usually in late Winter.