Problem with hawthorn?

I have a 10 year old pink flowering hawthorn tree. last year it was quite poorly - hardly any flowers or leaves. I have it planted in my lawn and followed advice of gardener to put a mulch ring around it and feed with tomato food. I guess it was too late in the season then to see any real improvement. But this year, it seems no better - very sparse leaves and buds. My grandmother planted this tree the year before she died and I desperately want to save it. Can you help me please?

Problem with hawthorn?
I wish I knew this one!
Reply:Is it getting enough sunlight? Are you over watering it? Has the trunk been damaged somehow? A bone fide nursery (not a big box garden center) might be able to give you some insight as to what is going on. I would also call your county's extension office and ask to speak to the County Master Gardener.





My one experience with a flowering hawthorne was similar to yours ~ ours only lasted about 5 years, and the city forestry department said that hawthornes can be rather fickle for no explicable reason.
Reply:Hawthorns are generally very hardy. In 10 years it should be very vigorous.


As you have fed it, my advice would be to prune it hard. Oh yes, I know it takes courage, but it will pay on the end. By mid summer it will throw up healthy new shoots. And next year it will flower as normal.


Good luck.
Reply:Hawthorns are particularly prune to honey fungus disease.Anything else not doing well,or is there an old tree stump near by
Reply:I am just wondering about the level of the mulch ring you added. You should never go higher than the natural collar of the tree with soil/compost. Check and see where it wants the soil level to be. Easy to do just pull the mulch away and look at the base of the trunk. Where the roots flare out is where it should be. The other problem with trees can be how they were planted on the first place. They do not like their roots spiralling round and in a pot this is often the case. When planting these need to be straightened out or upto 10 years later the tree can die from girdling.


http://www.umass.edu/urbantree/factsheet...


The other possible cause is this....[They are, however, susceptible to fireblight, a disease that affects many of the trees and shrubs in the family Rosaceae. There is no effective treatment for this disease and, should you be unfortunate enough for any of your plants to contract it, then the only thing to do is to grub up and burn the infected plant in order to prevent the disease from spreading. The disease is not very common, fortunately, but many growers do recommend that you keep your cultivated apples away from Crataegus and other members of the family such as Cotoneasters and Pyracanthas as a precaution]





The symptoms are described here;


http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles070...





I do hope it is none of the reasons I have described as this tree sounds very special to you.