Common Name: Common HawthornLatin Name: Crataegus monogynaSoil: Average, medium moisture, well-drained; acid, alkaline or neutral.Position: Full sun to part shade. Flowering period/colour: May to JuneHardiness: Fully hardyHeight and spread in 20 years: 4m-8mSpecial features: Useful, accommodating, shrub or small tree, often used in mixed hedging. White flowers and red berries. Long sharp thorns. Easily pruned to shape. Crataegus monogyna is better known as the common hawthorn. Its main use is in mixed hedging where it makes a strong thorny barrier with attractive white flowers in early summer. The flowers are followed by red berries. The leaves have an attractive shape that is redolent of the British summer and farming countryside, where the species extensively used in hedging. Left unpruned this species will grow to the shape of a small tree between 4m and 8m tall and wide. Common hawthorn is an extremely forgiving species and will do well in most soils and situations. It is fully hardy (down to below -20°C) and can be pruned to shape and pruned hard back without problems. The fruit may cause mild stomach upset if ingested.