Pauls Scarlet Hawthorn Trees

• Variety: Paul's Scarlet, the double red Hawthorn
• Latin name: Crataegus x media 'Paul's Scarlet' (formerly listed under Crataegus laevigata)
• RHS Award of Garden Merit: Yes
• Sold as: Bareroot standards at 6/8cm and 8/10cm girth. Pot-grown at 150/175cm in a 10 litre pot
• Mature size: 6 to 8m tall
• Shape: Small and rounded
• Flowers: Fully double, light red, in May
• Thorny: Yes
• Best soil and site: Most soils, but not waterlogged. Sun or partial shade. Takes town air and an exposed site
• Hardiness: H7, hardy in the severest British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Paul's Scarlet is a small, rounded, thorny Hawthorn covered in fully double, light red flowers in May, and it holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It grows 6 to 8 metres tall in most soils, in sun or partial shade, and is a tree for a small garden.

Pauls Scarlet Hawthorn Trees

Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn is covered in masses of red, double flowers in May. So much so that it can be hard to see anything else: a wonderful sight. In autumn, it's covered in fruit called haws, and in a good year the rest of the tree can almost disappear from sight for the second time.

A medium-sized tree bred from our two native hawthorns, suitable for the average garden, it's probably too showy to fit into a woodland scheme and is best used as a specimen tree in easy sight at the back of a border or the centre of a lawn. It's thorny and attractive to nesting birds.
It can reach a height of about 6-8 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 Paul's Scarlet

Very hardy. Almost any soil, damp, poor, or dry. Suitable for large containers designed for trees. Full sun or partial shade is best for the flower display. Tolerant of pollution and sea winds. Like the rest of its family, it's pretty much disease and pest free; all that is needed is to protect it from rabbits and deer while relatively young.

History & Trivia

This sport of Crataegus Rosea Flore Pleno was found in 1858. Previously classified Crataegus coccinea or oxycantha Plena.

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

Double Pink Hawthorn is its parent: plant both and you have the original and the sport. Crimson Cloud is the single red, and the one to choose for bees. The Crab Apples are small blossom trees too, and there are more under trees for small gardens. Dust the roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Hawthorn 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 Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn grow?

It is a small tree, six to eight metres at most, and slow to get there.

Is Paul's Scarlet a native tree?

Not quite. It is a garden form of the cross between Britain's two native Hawthorns, found in 1858 as a red-flowered branch on a Double Pink Hawthorn near Waltham Cross.

Is Paul's Scarlet good for bees?

Less than you would hope. Double flowers leave bees little to work with. For wildlife, plant the single-flowered Crimson Cloud. What Paul's Scarlet does offer is thorny cover for nesting birds.

What soil does it need?

Almost any. It grows well in most soils in sun or partial shade, and Hawthorns suit town, coastal and exposed gardens. The one thing to avoid is waterlogged ground.

Does Paul's Scarlet have an award?

Yes. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, given to plants that perform reliably in British gardens.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot standards are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. The pot-grown tree can be delivered and planted in any month when you find it in stock.