Evening star., 1952-01-06

In the grounds OF the Takoma
Park branch of the Public Library
there is a fine specimen of the
Washington Thorn. Planted there
several years ago by the Takona
Park Women's Club, the Wash
ington Thorn has thrived and is
now an attractive ornamental.
Because Of its compact form and
white flowers in spring and scarlet
fruits in fall and winter. it has
much to command it for those
seeking small trees for small
yards.
The Washington Thorn, cra-
Itaegus phaenopyrum, is we'll
adapted to this area, being native
to the Southeast. Mere especially,
the thorny growth gives it an adj
vantage over trees not so armed,
especially in yards where young
|sters like to climb. However, the
gardener will find the gnarled
growth and horizontal branching
appealing features of this tree,
which seems to thrive in most
kinds of soil and in unprotected
situations. In fact, the Washing
ton Thorn will even thrive in par
itial shade, although it does best
in full sun.
The Washington Thorn, grow
ing as it does to from Is to Is
feet in height. will appeal to home
owners seeking an ornamental
that will not dwarf their homes.
For this reason a pair Of Wash
ington ThoIns will fit into the
front yard of the average city lot
without completely obliterating
the view of the house from the
street. Moreover, its compact root
system stays below the surface of
the ground so that grass will grow
beneath the branches. This same
feature makes the thorn useful
as a tall background plant for
the larger shrub border, or as a
central feature in shrub group
| ing.
Flower and Fruit Pleasing.
The small flowers are freely
borne in clusters 2 to inches
across and so make a pleasing
showing in the spring in spite of
the diminutive size of the inN-
vidual blossoms.
The coral-red fruits are pro-
duced so freely that they make a
very pleasing show in the fall and
early winter. Being attractive to
the birds, the fruits are sometimes
stripped earlier than in other
seasons, but they usually last long
enough to make the annual dis
play worth looking forward to-.
Occasionally the fruits are large
enough to be used for Jelly, but
this is the exception rather than
the rule. They are not poisonous.
The Washington Thorn may be
raised from seed, but that is a
slow process. 1t sometimes takes
three years for the seeds to sprout.
1t is usually better practice to
buy young plants from a nursery
man. They transplant rather
easily. although the spring is the
preferred time to set them out.
Pests Are Controlled.
The Washington Thorn is not
without its troubles. but they are
easily controlled. A leaf scot may
be disfiguring in a wet spring and
need to be controlled by spraying
with bordeaux, fermate or sulphur.
The japanese beetles, when par
Iticularly destructive, strip the
foliage, but now that the beetles
are on the decline, this is not a
serious problem. Beetles may be
kept away by spraying the foliage
with methoxychlor about the
middle of June. In situations lack
ing good air circulation, the red
spider mite and the lace fly may
be troublesome and require con-
troll through the use of nicotine
sulphate or a miticide. However,
there are Washington Thorn trees
in this area that have grown and
thrived without serious trouble.
The Washington Thorn is nor
mally grown as a small specimen
tree for the home grounds, but it,
has other uses, one of which is as