Indian hawthorn
Rhaphiolepis indica · Rosaceae
A dense, mounding evergreen with leathery leaves, covered in pink or white flowers in spring and followed by blue-black berries. It tolerates salt and drought.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early April to early May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around Indian hawthorn
The planner designed this bed around Indian hawthorn when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 8, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 872 that suit those conditions, and says below why Indian hawthorn stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Indian hawthorn × 1, pink
- 2 Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' × 18, blue
- 3 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 4, purple
- 4 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 3, tan
- 5 Smooth aster 'Bluebird' × 3, blue
- 6 Lilyturf × 8, white
- 7 Schubert's allium × 5, pink
- 8 Asiatic lily × 5, yellow
- 9 Easter lily × 5, white
Why this plant
- A classic partner for lilyturf. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does switchgrass 'Prairie Sky'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Schubert's allium (20 in): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early April to early May.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 8 of the 9 groups (89%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 51 to 49, left to right. There is more Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' than anything else, 18 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Indian hawthorn goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A dependable, low evergreen mound for the warm South and the coast. It needs full sun and air movement to avoid leaf spot.
- Low evergreen hedges in warm climates
- Coastal gardens
- Foundation planting
What to plant with Indian hawthorn
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lilyturf: carries the spot on into mid September; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Dwarf yaupon holly: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- African lily: carries the spot on into early August.
Questions about Indian hawthorn
Does Indian hawthorn need sun or shade?
Indian hawthorn grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does Indian hawthorn grow in?
USDA zones 8 to 10. It is hardy to zone 8, which means it survives winter nights down to about 20 °F (−7 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Indian hawthorn flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 8 | Mid March to mid April |
|---|---|
| Zone 9 | Early March to mid April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Indian hawthorn be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Indian hawthorn plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Indian hawthorn poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat Indian hawthorn?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after Indian hawthorn?
Indian hawthorn is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Peony: from late May to late June, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bearded iris: from late May to mid June, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Calla lily: from mid May to mid July, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Indian hawthorn look like in winter?
Indian hawthorn keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is Indian hawthorn good for bees and butterflies?
Indian hawthorn is visited by pollinators and songbirds.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early April to early May; dense clusters; pink, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- South China to Indo-China and Temp. Eastern Asia
- Attracts
- Pollinators, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Drought, salt, deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.