[Thistle]

Hi Fordj. Welcome to the WS Forum!

Good to know about the 'synthetic' CS shillelagh. I saw it in a catalogue once and had wondered about the material. You're right; looks good in the photos tho.

I'm new too, and very much in crazy

learning mode, so not helpful to anyone at the moment.

Good luck with your blackthorn and hawthorn projects!

 

[Thistle]

Thank you, Fordj!

The prickly hawthorne belongs to the rose family. Lots of wonderful uses for it -- culinary, medicinal, and of course landscaping. Very very useful to have around you and for attracting wildlife.

I love trees too! I always advise hobbyists to consult with a certified arborist or someone knowledgeable. Trees and shrubs benefit from seasonal pruning, but needs to be implemented properly to prevent disease and damage. Also to ease your mind about "hacking" on them. You should be able to prune in early spring before blossoms appear.

I love hearing that you care about the trees.

Enjoy your hawthorne!!

Thistle,

Love your picture of the tree as your avatar!

I bought this house 8 years ago, and didn't realise the wealth of stick material I had until over these holidays, due to the Cold Steel Shellilaugh. Didn't even know the "thorn trees" were Hawthorne until I decided to look into real shillilaughs. I was quite exited to find out that I have such a wood growing in my fenceline! My house is surrounded by trees, and the Hawthornes are quite light starved, so I probably won't do very much cutting on them. They have a tough enough life without me hacking on them! I know wild hawthorne along the creek here that aren't in such a bad location that I can harvest from.