Collecting season 2017 is drawing to a close. One species I wanted to be sure to have some stock of is Parsley hawthorn, Crataegus marshallii. Today I took care of that chore. Here are a few that I brought home.

This guy isn’t much to look at, having only slight taper, but once it buds out I can either grow out the tree as a taller slender specimen or select a low branch to make into a new leader. I left it long to maximize the choices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one shouted “literati” at me from the woods, so it had to come home. Notice in the first example how straight the trunk is. This is normal for hawthorns. But all the twists and turns on this one are most definitely not. I’m looking forward to making something of this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my best find of the day. Taper and character, all in a neat package.

I should know in a couple of weeks if these trees have made it. All but one I collected today were already leafing out. Hawthorns are very forgiving when it comes to being lifted – my success rate is right at 90% – but you never know what will happen when you collect outside the dormant season.

Let me know what you think of these Parsley haws.