Crimson Cloud Hawthorn Trees

• Variety: Crimson Cloud, the single red Hawthorn, and the best one for wildlife
• Latin name: Crataegus × media 'Crimson Cloud', often sold as Crataegus laevigata
• Sold as: Bareroot standard, 6/8 and 8/10cm girth. Pot-grown, 150/175cm tall in a 10 litre pot
• Mature size: 8 to 10m tall
• Rootstock: Common Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna
• Flowers: Single, pinkish-red with a white centre, in spring
• Fruit and foliage: Dark red haws in early autumn. Glossy, deeply lobed leaves that turn yellow and bronze
• Thorns: Yes, which nesting birds like
• Best soil and site: Most soils. Sun or partial shade. Exposed or sheltered
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• RHS Award of Garden Merit: Yes (2021)
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Crimson Cloud is a small, thorny Hawthorn with single, pinkish-red flowers, each with a white centre, followed by dark red haws. Single flowers are the ones bees can use, so it is the garden Hawthorn for wildlife. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and you can buy it bareroot or pot-grown.

Crimson Cloud Hawthorn Trees

Crataegus Crimson Cloud, is a small, ornamental Hawthorn tree, raised from Britain's two native Hawthorns, with profuse red flowers in May held in rounded clusters, making the tree hazy with colour and fragrance. The edges of each flower are deep pink-red, with white "eyes" in the centre. They have an unusual, rich fragrance that is very popular with bees & butterflies, and nesting birds like the thorny branches.
The fruit, known as haws, have decent decorative value, being small, shiny red and carried in bunches all over the tree. They add to the interest of the autumn display and stay on the branches after all the leaves have fallen, providing food for birds such as finches and tits.
It's suitable for most gardens making a tidy tree of no more than 10 metres.

Browse our range of hawthorn trees or our all of our garden trees.

Delivery season: Hawthorn trees are delivered bareroot from late autumn to early spring, November to April.
Choosing a size: Small trees are cheaper, easier to handle and more forgiving of less than ideal aftercare, so they're best for a big planting project. If instant impact is your priority, or if you are only buying a few plants for use in a place where it's convenient to water them well in their first year, then you may as well use bigger ones. All our bareroot trees are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Growing Crimson Cloud

Very hardy. Any well drained soil. Suitable for large containers designed for trees. Full sun or partial shade. Tolerant of pollution.

History & Trivia

Crimson Cloud was bred over in America, though its parents were brought there from Britain and you would have a tough time telling it apart from Crataegus laevigata Punicea, which was cultivated here in the 1820's. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, given in 2021.

Standard trees are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level: their trunk's waist measurement. Unlike sapling trees and hedge plants, standards aren't measured by their height, which will vary quite a bit both between and within species.
So, a 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8cm and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10cm around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
On average, standard trees are 2-3.5 metres tall when they arrive, but we cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

Planting Companions

Paul's Scarlet is the double red Hawthorn, grown for show, and Double Pink is its parent. For a native hedge to go with your tree, plant Common Hawthorn by the metre. See more trees for wildlife. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Crimson Cloud comes bareroot, lifted while dormant, or pot-grown for planting in any month. Bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months, and so is a potted tree delivered leafless between November and March.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big does Crimson Cloud grow?

8 to 10 metres tall. It is a good tree for a small garden.

Paul's Scarlet or Crimson Cloud: which red Hawthorn?

Paul's Scarlet has double flowers, which are showier but leave bees little to work with. Crimson Cloud has single flowers with a white eye, and it sets a proper crop of haws.

Is Crimson Cloud a native tree?

Not quite. It is a garden form of the cross between Britain's two native Hawthorns, now filed as Crataegus × media. Its single flowers and its haws feed wildlife all the same.

Can you grow it in a pot?

For a few years, in a large container, if you start with the pot-grown size. After that it needs the ground. A bareroot standard should go straight into the soil.

How thorny is it?

It is a thorny tree, like every Hawthorn. That is part of its value: small birds nest in the shelter of the thorns.

What soil does it need?

It grows well in most soils, in sun or partial shade, and in exposed or sheltered sites. Avoid ground that lies wet.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot trees are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown trees can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.