How Many Years Until a Hawthorn Tree Bears Fruit? A Detailed Guide to Key Planting Techniques

There are many varieties of hawthorn, and both fresh-eating and processing fruits sell well on the market, with both medicinal and edible value. At present, hawthorn cultivation is also fairly widespread, because hawthorn has strong adaptability and can be cultivated in mountainous areas, plains, hills, sandy wastelands, and acidic or alkaline soils. How many years does a hawthorn tree generally take to bear fruit? What are the key points of planting techniques?

1. How many years does hawthorn generally take to bear fruit?

Hawthorn trees generally bear fruit in 3~4 years, enter the full fruit-bearing period around 10 years, and at 50~70 years old each tree can yield up to 100 kg, with large trees yielding as much as 300 kg. Hawthorn has strong adaptability and prefers a cool, humid environment; it is both cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant, and can grow between -36 and 43 degrees C.

2. Key points of hawthorn tree planting techniques

1. Apply base fertilizer in autumn

It is best to do this promptly in late autumn after the fruit is picked, as this can promote the tree's absorption and accumulation of nutrients and benefit flower bud differentiation. The base fertilizer should preferably be mainly organic fertilizer, combined with a certain amount of chemical fertilizer; first mix the chemical fertilizer moderately with the organic fertilizer or soil before applying it into the trench, so as to avoid burning the roots.

For young hawthorn trees, apply 40-80 kg of decomposed barnyard manure per tree per year, and apply chemical fertilizer (pure nitrogen) 0.3-0.5 kg for the whole year; for large trees in the full fruit-bearing period, each tree should be appropriately given 70 kg of organic fertilizer per year, with a topdressing of 1.5-2 kg urea (or 2-3 kg ammonium bicarbonate) and 1 kg potassium sulfate.

2. Ring girdling at the right time

Ring girdling or ring barking of young vigorous hawthorn trees can temporarily retain the organic nutrients produced by the leaves, so as to concentrate supply for flowering and fruit setting or for flower bud formation. From late May to late June, use the blunt edge of a knife to make a ring cut deep to the xylem on a smooth part of the trunk to control shoot growth and promote flowering.

3. Topdressing during the flowering and fruiting period

Topdressing before flowering is mainly nitrogen fertilizer and phosphorus fertilizer, generally about 35% of the annual application amount; topdressing at the young fruit stage mainly improves nutritional conditions for the early differentiation of flower buds; topdressing at the fruit expansion stage is mainly potassium fertilizer, mainly to promote fruit growth and increase the carbohydrate content of hawthorn. Each year, during the flower bud differentiation stage and the flower bud stage, spray Bangdeshou Hualizhuang organic water-soluble fertilizer to promote healthy flower bud growth and increase the fruit-setting rate. At the young fruit stage and fruit expansion stage, spray Bangdeshou Guolizhuang organic water-soluble fertilizer to promote uniform fruit, increase sweetness, give smooth color, and raise yield.

4. Pruning should be done carefully

Pruning of hawthorn trees should mainly be done in winter, carrying out transformation and renewal and rejuvenation, thinning out whorled scaffold branches and densely growing large peripheral branches as well as competing branches, water sprouts, diseased and pest-damaged branches, and cutting back weakened main and side branches, selecting and retaining buds at appropriate positions for small renewal, and cultivating robust branch groups. Weak branches should be heavily cut back for rejuvenation, and the method of notching above buds on bare parts should be used for transformation to increase branches. Seal and protect pruning wounds with “wound healing and antiseptic film” to prevent drying and cracking and damage from diseases and pests.

5. Irrigate in drought and drain in waterlogging

Hawthorn trees are generally watered four times a year. The amount of irrigation varies with tree age, tree vigor, and soil, but generally each irrigation should wet the soil within the crown projection area to a depth of 40-60 cm. In spring, where irrigation conditions permit, water once after topdressing to promote the absorption and utilization of fertilizer. From after petal fall to before physiological fruit drop, watering combined with topdressing can reduce post-flowering fruit drop and help the first fruit growth peak appear, accelerating fruit expansion and thus increasing the fruit-setting rate.

Watering in August before the last peak of hawthorn fruit growth has an obvious effect on accelerating fruit expansion. In winter, water thoroughly in time with the freezing water to help the tree overwinter safely. In low-lying, easily waterlogged hawthorn orchards with heavy clay soil, ditches should be dug for drainage and accumulated water should be removed promptly.

The measures are: mound soil around the tree disk to prevent water accumulation. Loosen the soil in time to enhance soil aeration, promote water evaporation, and reduce soil water content. 6. Sterilization and disinfection to prevent diseases and pests

During the winter dormant period and before spring bud break, apply orchard-clearing treatments to protect flower buds, disinfect and sterilize, and keep warm and prevent freezing. From early May to early June, control red spiders and peach fruit borers. In mid-June, late July, and early August, focus on controlling peach fruit moths, ring rot, and so on. For hawthorn orchards with severe powdery mildew, spray once before bud break, once at the flower bud stage, and once in June with 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 600 times dilution or 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder.