Questions and answers about Mayhaw

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The Mayhaw resembles a small crabapple. The tree is in the Rosacea family and the genus Crataegus. The Mayhaw is a Hawthorne tree and it bears it's fruit in May, hence the name Mayhaw. The Mayhaw fruit ranges in colors from pink to dark red, and one or two selections are yellow. Some trees such as the Super Spur have fruit that are red and pink. The size of the fruit averages from one half to about one inch in diameter.

Where are Mayhaw fruit grown ?

The Mayhaw is found in the Southern United States from East Texas to the panhandle of Florida. The heaviest concentrations of native mayhaw trees are found in Grant Parish, Louisiana , near Winnie, Texas and in the Pearl River swamps of Mississippi. Fruit growers in other area's are testing mayhaw to determine exactly how far North the tree will bear fruit. Commercial mayhaw orchards are found as far North as the Louisiana and Arkansas state line. The tree will actually survive 20 degrees below zero , but the primary problem is that the mayhaw is subject to blooming very early in the Spring and many times the blooms are lost due to frosts and freezes. Trees that have this characteristic are referred to as being " low chill trees ". Several people are breeding mayhaw trees in order to develop trees that will bloom later in Spring.

How are Mayhaw trees propagated ?

Since the mayhaw trees are native trees they are capable of reproducing themselves from the seeds that are left on the ground when fallen fruit rots, and from the seeds in the fruit that are carried away by birds and animals. Many mayhaw trees are planted by nature in low areas where the seed are washed from trees on hillsides in rainy periods and deposited in the low areas where the seed is sheltered from the elements by leaf mold and debris . In spring the seeds germinate and produce new mayhaw trees. Where this occurs the trees are usually in groves in the low areas.

Several years ago people began selecting trees that were found in the wild and exhibited traits that were desirable, such as large fruit and late blooming. These trees were cloned by grafting and cuttings and are referred to as selections.

Many growers also began to grow seedling trees in order to search for trees that are better than average and these are referred to as chance seedlings. Several of my best trees are seedlings that Diana grew in containers twelve years ago. When a tree is found to have better than average qualities, it is usually named by the person growing the tree and is thereafter referred to as a selection.

There are now several nurseries that are producing these quality trees in several areas. I am evaluating several selections from the nursery of Billy Craft in Woodworth, Louisiana . Billy , along with Elmer Langston of Pollack, Louisiana and Glen Melcher of Tioga, Louisiana are the authors of a fine book entitled Mayhaws A guide to orchard production and propagation. These men are envolved in a very intense research program to develop trees for amateur and commercial growers.

Another nursery that does a large mail order business is Sherwood's Greenhouses of Sibley, LA. Mr. J.S. Akins is the owner.

How is the Mayhaw fruit harvested ?

There are several ways that the fruit can be removed from the trees. Some growers harvest by placing fabric under the trees and shaking the trees , much like the harvest of pecans. Some trees have fruit that falls with strong winds and other selections have fruit that is a little more difficult to remove. Some trees drop their fruit over an extended period of time requiring more trips to the orchard to harvest. One of the qualities that I prefer is a tree that drops all of it's fruit over a short period of time.

The Late Mr. J.S. Akins harvesting under the parent Super Spur Mayhaw tree in 1984.
This is fruit from the first shaking of the tree that year and totaled 34 gallons.
Total harvest from this tree in 1984 was 86 gallons. J.S. was an active fruit grower until his death in 2008.

How long before my trees begin to bear ?

Most mayhaw trees fruit at a rather young age when they are grafted , since the grafting process uses an established rootstock ( seedling mayhaw) which is usually about two years old. The grafted tree will usually bear some fruit within the first two years after grafting. The seedling tree usually takes about five years to begin bearing, which is actually the total age of the grafted tree also. I have found that the mayhaw tree purchased from a nursery usually is three years old. If you are in a hurry, buy a grafted tree. Some selections are earlier bearing than others.

How much fruit will my adult Mayhaw tree produce?

This is probably one of the hardest questions to answer. I have heard of trees such as the Super Spur parent tree in Sibley, Louisiana that have borne over one hundred gallons of fruit in a good year. The parent Super Spur was a chance seedling lifted from the wild and transplanted to his orchard by my friend J.S. Akins . The Super Spur is a good tree for the coastal regions , but is a very early bloomer. Here at my place in Abbeville, LA Super Spur does well and I have 2 Super Spur trees.

I have a five year old seedling tree that produced two gallons this year which was it's first year to bear. As the mayhaw tree reaches it's full size at about 12 years of age, more of it's energy goes into making fruit instead of vegetative growth. Instead of making more branches it develops more fruiting spurs and therefore more fruit. A rule of thumb for me is that , in the case of a seedling, the tree will produce very little fruit till it's fifth year and then produce one gallon of fruit for each year of age until about twelve years of age, or twelve gallons at twelve years of age. After that more fruit is produced depending on many factors such as soil fertility, available moisture, insect pressure, late Spring freezes, etc.

The oldest trees that I am observing in my local area are 20 years old and each produced about 20 gallons of fruit this past season. I am sure that there are trees that bear much heavier. Also remember that the statements made on this page are only from my personal experience.

What pests and diseases will I have to contend with in my Mayhaw Orchard ?

The Mayhaw is a close relative of the apple tree and will have the same pest and disease problems . I have placed a link at the bottom of this page to a homeowners spray chart courtesy of the University of Nebraska.

How are Mayhaw fruit utilized ?

There are many ways that the fruit can be used, the most common is in the making of jelly. The jelly that is produced is believed by many to be the best jelly that can be made. I know of one person who sells her homemade jelly at $14.00 per quart. Tourists in the New Orleans area purchase the jelly at even higher prices. . There are mail order sources in several states.

There are several wineries in North Louisiana that are making Mayhaw wine.
Here at home we make our own wine and mayhaw is our favorite. Other uses of the mayhaw are in syrup, butters, and pies.

Contact Information

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