Sassy, welcome. It would help if we knew what USDA zone you are in. If you are unsure, let us know what state you live in. As far as the indian hawthorne, I live in southeast Louisiana. It is by far my favorite low growing shrub. It is low maintenance, no spraying, no serious pests and evergreen with spring blossoms. They do like alkaline soil, which I have. There are different varieties and most are full and round and are about eighteen to two feet tall, but they are some that grow taller. They put on about 3-6 inches of growth every year in every direction, and can be easily pruned to keep them compact. My oldest are seven years and are 30 inches wide and long and 24 inches high. They like full sun to partial shade. I discovered the pinkie variety really only blooms well in full sun and loses its foliage and looks twiggy in part shade. The peggy does fine in part shade for me. I believe the clara grows taller 21/2-3 feet. A one gallon container will fill in very nicely in a few years if you space the plants a couple of feet apart. In the front of my house, I have them in front of variegated pittosporum and behind bedding plants. In my back yard, full hot sun, they are in beds with daylilies staggered in front of them. If you want a faster growing evergreen taller hedge and are in a mild zone with sun, I would suggest loropetalum or antique roses (there are thornless low maintenance evergreen shrub varieties.) If you have some shade, camellias, azaleas, sweet olive and gardenia grow much faster.

A couple of warnings about Indian Hawthorn (Rapheolepis indica). First, it is very susceptible to a bad leaf spot fungus if grown in shady conditions, or if over fertilized. It is not something that you should plant a whole bunch of for that reason. Also, it is major deer food in those areas where deer are eating the landscaping.

I live in Florida and am planning on transplanting some Indian Hawthorne in the next month or two. Any tips for a successful re-planting?

Is Indian Hawthorne an iritant to the skin or toxic

It is entirely ton-toxic as far as I know, but you should certainly do your own research if this is a concern to you. Use correct spelling 'Indian Hawthorn (no e)' in Google, or the latin name, Rapheolepis indica.

Here in So. CA indian hawthorne (raphiolepis?) grows very well and can reach 5'. Blooms beautifully in the spring, and must less trouble than azaleas.

are the berries on the Dwarf Hawthorn poisonous ?

i live in zone 9 morgan city la.

Sassy, you will have to decide how large a shrub you wish. There are numerous cultivars out there, exhibiting a wide range of sizes. Be sure to do your homework on the right variety for your needs and make sure that all of the plants you purchase are the same kind. If not, you will have some plants that stay low to the ground while others will grow to be several feet tall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rapheolepis indica Fact Sheet

I have an Indian Hawthorn hedge on the side of my garage.
It is growing very well and looks great. It has blue berries on it and it gets plenty of sun but it has not bloomed. Is there anything I can do?

If it has berries on it, it has bloomed. The berries can only be formed after the flowers have been successfully pollinated. Sounds like you MISSED the spring flowers!!!

If there are only a few berries, then you may want to evaluate your fertilization. 'Growing very well' sometimes means 'growing too much', at the sacrifice of flower production.

Our indian hawthorn and pitisporum have grown to about five feet tall. I keep them trimmed at that height because our house is eleveted and we need taller shrubbery. However, the plants are getting very leggy. Can I cut them back to about three feet and expect them to fill out? I appreciate your follow-up. Sharon

I have a question about Indian Hawthorn! A landscaper just planted 8 of these plants in my front flower bed with black lava rock underneath it. I water each plant for a few minutes every day or every other day and it gets rain on occassion (I live in Northwest Florida). But, the flowers are starting to die, dry-up and turn brown. Is is just time for the flowers to go away, or am I doing something wrong??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Rebecca

I live near Atlanta, GA and have Indian Hawthorne in the front of the house, mostly direct sun. I pruned a year or so ago and subsequently lost almost all the leaves. They're mostly back now but I don't want to go thru that again. When is the best time to prune?

i don't know

These bushes were planted in my landscaping package from the builder. I just happen to look at them this weekend and notice that a couple of the bushes have the leaf spots. I picked most of them off. Is it possible to save the bushes by removing the infected leaves. Also, can this be caused by too much watering? Thanks!

Fall and Spring are the two times of year to really beware of entomosporium leaf spot on Rapheolepis. You can slow it down by avoiding overhead watering, providing as close to full sun conditions as possible, selective pruning to open up the plant to improved light and air circulation, and by removing and disposing of infected leaves. Fallen leaves should also be removed from the vicinity.

If the plants are seriously infected...to the point where they are actually declining in vigor, then you'll need to begin fungicide applications. Hopefully, the plants weren't infected when they were brought from the nursery.

There is never a good reason for 'too much' watering. If you have any question at all about your watering or irrigation cycles, then you could review the situation. This is the time of year, also, when watering should really be slowed down.

My 12 month old was eating the blue berries. I am not sure if he swallowed any but he had a hand full in his mouth when I caught him. Are they toxic to humans?

I am always perplexed when someone asks an emergency situation question on an internet forum such as this.

Just so everyone knows: Indian Hawthorn (Rapheolepis indica) is not toxic.

Everyone with children should have the number of Poison Control next to their phone. They are used to getting calls such as this and glad to tell a frightened parent that he/she has nothing to worry about.

Here is a link that might be useful: Poisonous Plants Fact Sheet

Hello,
What is the best fertilizer for indian hawthorne? When is the ideal time of the year to fertilize? I've just moved into a house which has numerous ind. hawthorne around the front and many seem not to have grown much this prior year. Looks like they've been neglected.Also, frequency of watering would be nice to know.
Thanks,

They might be suffering due to lack of water if you have had drought conditions like Louisiana has. My experience is that if they are planted in decent soil with enough sun and are watered adequately that they are very low maintenance and are very healthy. They do grow a lot in the spring. I recently moved to a new house and mine were planted in May and have done nothing this year. I would try watering them well to perk them up. If you don't get frost for a few months it probably wouldn't hurt to fertilize them now. If you do get frost, the new leaves will get burned but the plant itself won't be damaged.

My hawthornes are not doing well...the ones in the shade are in the worse condition...these bushes are five years old...some have leaves turning orange/red and are becoming bare (some spots on the leaves that are coloring)...I applied 13-13-13 fertilizer (light dose)...Do I need to treat for fungus? suggestions? will the leaves return?

I purchased 3 of the these plants last year. I really do not remember the exact varity but they bloomed pink last spring. I planted them in a part sun area and this last fall and winter they never put on berries and the look like they are dying. Some of the leaves are brown and some have leaf spot. Some of the branches have no leaves at all. Do I need move them to a more sunny location or treat them with a fungicide?

I planted 4 Indian Hawthorns last April, and they have not grown 1 inch. I feed them every 2 weeks with Miracle-Gro LiquaFeed All Purpose Plant Food. Why aren't they growing?

Yikes. I read about the leaf spot issue and not to plant too many. I just put in about 25 to line the sidewalk leading to my front door. They get some sun, some dappled areas. Last year I put in some different plants as "testers" and the IH survived my dogs and the winter which is why I got more. I also love the mounding shape and lovely leafy way they have, not to mention the flowering. Oh well - hope they do well.

a lot of questions but few answers on this thread. Thank you to those that take the time to answer. It is appreciated.

Some of the leaves are turning red. Why?

I know the berries are non toxic to humans but how about pets? My poodle has been eating them and the vet could not provide an answer.

a lot of questions but few answers on this thread

The thread is 6 years old. Most veteran responders do not pay much attention to threads that stale. New questions should generate the start of a new thread.

Some of the leaves are turning red. Why?

Some varieties do produce very burnished or ruddy new growth and some will redden in response to cold weather. Otherwise, red foliage generally indicates the plants have issues......drainage, leaf spot or other fungal infection or the leaves are just dead.

I know the berries are non toxic to humans but how about pets?

Plants that are non-toxic to humans are generally (but not always) non-toxic to dogs and cats as well. If your vet cannot find documentation of toxicity, I doubt there's much concern. The berries are actually edible when cooked and can be used to make jam. Probably much too tart or bitter to eat fresh but dog taste buds are strange :-)