Question: My Indian hawthorns didn’t bloom well this spring. What can I do differently in the future?

Answer: There are several causes. For one thing, late winter and early spring freezes often ruin their bud clusters. If your plants are in the shade, they won’t bloom as well as you might expect. Also, if you prune them very much in late winter, you’ll be cutting off their flowering buds with the foliage. Before you worry too much, however, keep in perspective that Indian hawthorns only bloom for a couple of weeks each spring. The rest of the year, you have quality evergreen landscaping shrubs (assuming they stay free of Entomosporium fungal leaf spot).