Tag: seattle trees

Plant a Hawthorn Tree for Fall Beauty

I see a lot of Hawthorn trees in Seattle--they are usually planted along the streets, and they are usually quite ugly. I have never liked them at all. But today, I changed my mind.

While walking in Edmonds, WA, I spied a row of beautiful young Hawthorn trees bursting with clusters of red berries. They were a welcome, cheerful site on this cold autumn day.

The habit of these Hawthorns was quite lovely, with a pleasing, oval shape. The leaves are green and glossy, and the berries pop in contrast.

Copied straight from Wikipedia: Crataegus ( /krəˈtiːɡəs/),^[1] commonly called hawthorn or thornapple,^[2] is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae,

You can see the similarities to the rose family in the thorns, of course (it is called hawthorn), and the berries remind me of the large round bulbs of the Rosa Rugosa plant.

Maybe the typical Seattle street Hawthorn tree is unattractive because it has been neglected, standing unpruned for decades. Or maybe the Hawthorn just looks better when it's young (hmmm, I feel the same way!). In any case, these specimens clearly show that this is a great tree to plant for lovely fall color.

And one more look at those gorgeous berries:

   Blooma Tree Experts are proud to count Ron Sims amongst their satisfied customers.

Mr. Sims has been the Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for President Obama, just recently resigning. Prior to this appointment, he served as King County Executive for twelve years.

Hired to prune several trees on Mr. Sims' property recently, the Blooma crew enjoyed chatting with this personable politician. Josiah Macauley spent some time chatting with Mr. Sims about his work  in Washington, DC and his long weekly commute. The entire crew said Mr. Sims is a personable, friendly man whom they enjoyed meeting.

We get out, we walk around, and sometimes we are saddened by what we see. Here is a photo of a prime example of poor pruning. Let me explain.

As you can see, this tree is still alive--or at least part of it is. The pink blooms are lovely, but we can't appreciate their beauty because of the ugly stumps. We're not sure what the goal was with this pruning job, but each of those cuts left a stump. None of those stumps will callus over and heal, thus keeping the tree stressed and inviting fungi and pests.

In addition, the canopy has been obliterated, leaving a lopsided tree. This is very unattractive. The amount of the canopy removed is too much for the tree to bear, and it will now descend into its death spiral.

In this case, the best suggestion is to remove the tree entirely and plant a new one. This tree diminishes the value of the house and the aesthetics of the street. Put the tree out of its misery and begin again. Next time, though, call in a professional to prune your tree!