Garden Care Guide

Crataegus x rubrinervis Care

Crataegus x rubrinervis

Generally a thorny, densely branched hawthorn hybrid. It loves full sun and adapts to most well-drained soil types. It is used in the landscape as a hedge plant or as a specimen.

Hardy · -30 °C / -22 °F

Monthly care calendar

Timings are for a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate. In warmer areas tasks start earlier, in colder areas later; in the Southern Hemisphere shift them by six months.

January
  • Watering: Not necessary (if the soil is very dry, young saplings get 5 L).
  • Pruning: A suitable time for shaping, thinning, and dead branch pruning.
  • General care: Suitable for planting.
  • Pests & diseases: Check the trunk and branches for overwintering pests.
  • Frost risk: The roots of young saplings can be protected with mulch or soil.
February
  • Watering: Not necessary (if the soil is very dry, young saplings get 5 L).
  • Pruning: While dormant, remove dry, broken, crossing and inward-growing branches so that air and light reach the inside of the crown.
  • Plant protection: Before the buds swell, to the 1.5 stage: Bordeaux mixture or a copper-based fungicide (protective against diseases such as black spot and rust).
  • General care: Clean up the area around the plant.
  • Pests & diseases: Check for scale insects.
  • Frost risk: Protect young seedlings in severe frosts.
March
  • Watering: If there is no rain, 10-15 L/week.
  • Fertilizing: To encourage waking, use a nitrogen-heavy or balanced NPK 20-20-20 fertilizer (soil/drip application, 50-100 g per plant; do not overapply).
  • Pruning: Only broken/diseased branches are removed.
  • General care: Hoe shallowly to aerate the soil.
  • Pests & diseases: Check the new shoots for aphids.
April
  • Watering: 15-20 L/week.
  • Pruning: Not done during the flowering period.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Weed control.
  • Pests & diseases: Look for aphids (green or black clusters of small insects) on fresh shoot tips. If there are only a few, you can knock them off with a strong jet of water.
May
  • Watering: 20-25 L/week.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Observe fruit set.
  • Pests & diseases: Check fresh shoot tips for aphids (small clusters of green or black insects). If there are few, you can knock them off with a strong spray of water. If you see black spots with yellow rings on the leaves (black spot), collect the diseased leaves and remove them from the garden; the disease overwinters in fallen leaves.
June
  • Watering: In a long drought, water deeply once a month.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Watering is critical for fruit development.
  • Pests & diseases: Check fresh shoot tips for aphids (small clusters of green or black insects). If there are few, you can knock them off with a strong spray of water. If you see black spots with yellow rings on the leaves (black spot), collect the diseased leaves and remove them from the garden; the disease overwinters in fallen leaves.
July
  • Watering: In midsummer, deep watering every 15-20 days is enough. Established plants (over 2 years old) do not need watering in most years. Water the area around the roots to a depth of 15-20 cm.
  • Plant protection: In hot and dry weather, use a miticide with abamectin as the active ingredient for spider mites.
  • General care: Use mulch to preserve soil moisture.
  • Pests & diseases: Leaf scorch may occur during extreme heat; check your watering.
August
  • Watering: In midsummer, deep watering every 15-20 days is enough. Established plants (over 2 years old) do not need watering in most years. Water the area around the roots to a depth of 15-20 cm.
  • General care: Monitor the ripening fruits.
  • Pests & diseases: Use netting or shiny strips to keep birds from damaging the fruit.
September
  • Watering: In a long drought, water deeply once a month.
  • Fertilizing: After harvest, an NPK fertilizer heavy in potassium and phosphorus (e.g. 5-15-30) can be given to strengthen the plant (on the soil, 50 g per plant; do not overdo it).
  • Pruning: Only shoots that grow too long can be shortened lightly.
  • Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
  • General care: Fruit is harvested. Propagation by cuttings can be tried.
  • Pests & diseases: If you see black spots with yellow halos on the leaves (black spot), collect the diseased leaves and remove them from the garden; the disease overwinters in fallen leaves.
October
  • Watering: Reduce to 10-15 L/week, and stop once the rains begin.
  • Plant protection: Bordeaux mixture can be applied as a protective measure after leaf fall.
  • General care: Collect fallen diseased leaves and destroy them. It is a good time for planting saplings.
  • Pests & diseases: Garden cleanup reduces next year's disease risk.
November
  • Watering: Not necessary (if the soil is very dry, young saplings get 5 L).
  • Fertilizing: A suitable time to apply well-rotted farmyard manure (spread on the soil surface and worked in).
  • Pruning: Winter pruning can begin once the leaves have fallen.
  • General care: Collect fallen leaves; many disease agents and pests overwinter under leaves.
  • Frost risk: Cover the root collar of young saplings with soil or mulch.
December
  • Pruning: The ideal period for winter pruning (shaping, thinning, removing dead/diseased branches).
  • General care: General garden cleaning and tool maintenance.
  • Pests & diseases: Observe the dormant plant in general.
  • Frost risk: Continue protecting young seedlings in places where severe frost is expected.

The care advice on this page is general and for information only; it is not professional advice. Plant age, soil and your garden’s microclimate can change the outcome. Plant protection products are mentioned only as general information; they are regulated, and the choice, dose and timing must be decided by a qualified professional under local rules. Consult a landscape architect or agronomist before applying.

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