Garden Q&A: My whitethorn tree has never blossomed. Why not?
The whitethorn can survive 250 years, writes Peter Dowdall. File picture
A kindly bird planted a whitethorn seed in my garden. It has now grown to about four feet tall and looks very healthy. However, no white blossom ever appeared. Is there a male/female thing going on here, or is it simply too soon for me to expect it to flower?
Be grateful to that bird. It has gifted you a beautiful native tree for your garden. Bear in mind that the whitethorn will grow to about six metres in height over time with a spread of three metres or so.
Whitethorns can commonly survive for up to 250 years with some remarkable specimens such as the Hethel Old Thorn in Norfolk, thought to be about 750 years old.
So if the bird didn’t plant it somewhere suitable, move it during the winter.
In answer to your query — no, there’s no male and female thing going on; crataegus is monecious, meaning that the tree produces both male and female reproductive structures within the same flowers.
I would say that yours is still quite young and that is why you have yet to see blooms; you could be waiting up to 10 years, though normally they will start producing flowers from five years onwards.
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