Hawthorn tree

Bagpuss57

I bought a hawthorn tree in the autum: Paul's Scarlett, in the hope it would bring in more wildlife/birds and have pretty pink blossom. Unfortunately the source I got it from delivered a stick just about a metre tall. It did have some buds on it and i planted it before the winter. I can now see little green bits (what looks like leaves) at the base, soil level, but nothing else is happening. I have tried contacting the supplier with my complaint and disappointment and wanted to ask for a refund as they said I had a guarantee on it if i wasn't happy, but they refuse to reply (JParkers): I have since heard bad reviews about JP and also read on the forum that hawthorn trees can take about 8 years just to establish and flower!   
My question is, if I dig mine up and replant it elsewhere will it still survive? Should I wait till autumn to do this? The reason I ask is that I really wanted a more established tree for this particular spot or one that would grow better but still be able to keep it as a tree around 8-10ft max for the future. Is there something else I can plant in this spot that will be good for clay soil, sunny spot most of the day and good for birds and wildlife, preferably with lovely pink blossom? I don't really wanna have to wait 8-10years for it to show any signs of flower or growth. As it's still only a small bare stick I can only assume it'll take forever to get going. I do have a fairly new small Bramley seedling Apple tree just over 5ft tall in the garden so perhaps another type of apple tree which might help with pollination and get fruits? Not sure what sort to go for though as I know there are particular types to help Bramley's to fruit. Any advice welcome. Thanks in advance. 

DampGardenMan

A crab apple?

We have a 'Paul's Scarlett' but I'm not sure it's in leaf yet. And we're in mild Devon - what's your climate like? Did the Beast damage it?

If you decide you must move it, then sooner rather than later might be better (unless you can wait for late autumn) as once things start into leaf they're more likely to be upset by a move (unless you can get a big chunk of soil out so they don't "know" they've been moved).

Bagpuss57

My issue was more that it's not a tree it's more like a short stick poking from the ground. There are some nodes on the tree but no branches only some little green bits showing at the base just on the level of the soil. I'm not sure if that's normal? I just wanted something that looked more tree like rather than a short stick! 

Obelixx

Give it time!  Once it does start growing a hawthorn can put on 6' a year so be patient.

I planted a hedge of sticks one year, cut them all back to 9" high at planting time in well prepared soil.   They started very late the following spring but grew 6'.  Cut them all back to 3' in autumn to encourage bushing up to make a hedge and raised that a foot each following year then kept it to 6'.

They want to grow and do provide great havens for birds, insects and small mammals.

Bagpuss57

Am I right to think then that the hawthorn tree and hawthorn bush/hedge will grow the same way? Mine was supplied as a tree not a bush or hedge? I wish tho I'd just got the hawthorn hedge as I saw in a garden centre while on holiday at Easter they were selling the whips (Is that the right term?) Which were around the same size as my 'stick' And we're only £1 - £2 each. I could have saved myself a heap of cash!!

DampGardenMan

It's a question of how you prune it and what, if anything, is planted next to it. Most hedges want to be big trees So, yes, you could have bought a whip from the garden centre and grown it on to be a tree. Though you might not get a named variety ...

DampGardenMan

Meant to say, in my previous garden, I had a Smoke Bush (Cotinus) and next to it was my Oak Bush - a self-seeded oak that I kept cut each year and which made a nice five feet high bush. Left along it would of course become a giant tree. Eventually.

Bagpuss57

This is the stick! And you can see the green shoots at the base. Not much around it at the moment as it's a new bed. Apart from the slugs that I've just disposed of! The log in the foreground  is just there to remind me not to fall over the stick as its do small its easily missed!! 

Obelixx

You can grow this as a specimen tree and enjoy the pink flowers each spring.   Or you could add a row of whips in autumn to grow as a hedge tho these will probably be the ordinary white flowered variety.  

Bagpuss57

Should I just leave the green leaves to do their thing? Why are they at the base and not producing branches from the nodes further up the trunk (stick). How long dya think I need to be patient and wait for my stick to mature into something resembling a tree with actual branches? 

Thankthecat

I planted a mixed native hedge three years ago, all from year old whips and including hawthorn (not a named variety). We decided to leave some of the trees in the hedge to grow unpruned and one of the hawthorns is now about five foot tall and branching in all directions. And that's in a very exposed garden where it has strong winds to contend with! Move it now if you must, with a good chunk of soil as DGM says, but within three years it will look more tree-like, I promise you. If it's any consolation, I got caught with the same company last year when they had a special offer on witch hazels. They were advertised as something like '2 for £20' which I thought was a bargain. Didn't read the small print - they were supplied in tiny weeny pots as newly grafted sticks no more than eight inches tall. I could have cried and was so embarrassed to hand one over to a friend I was sharing the 'deal' with ... but with a bit of tlc and potting on, it's finally starting to look like a tenner's worth