Washing Hawthorn tree

[Gailann]

Hello there, I have a Washington hawthorn tree which I have had for six years now. My problem, No flowers or berries. Thought I'd have to have a male and female tree but I have a hair dresser that put in only one washington Hawthorn tree and has flowers. Do I need another tree? How do you tell the difference between male and female trees?
I'm really discouraged with it this year though for it has tree catipillars eating all of it's leaves this year. Looks sad Hope they don't kill it. Sorry if I spelt Washington Hawthorn wrong. Not sure on the spelling of the name.

[rainbowgardener]

I'm not an expert, but I don't think the hawthorn has separate male and female trees. One should be able to set fruit by itself, if pollinated. It's insect pollinated, so that shouldn't be a problem.

[applestar]

Why don't you see if you can identify the caterpillars. bugguide.net and whatsthatbug.com are both good places to start.

My hawthorn (not sure if it's Washington hawthorn) loses most of its leaves in the summer due to as yet unidentified cause, but it leafs out in the autumn and comes back strong every spring, so a few caterpillars won't do it in. Also, some bird may end up feeding them to their babies -- this is a perilous time of the year for those guys. So don't panic yet.

Some butterflies and moths that have fed, pupated and eclosed in my garden by my exercising restraint include Snowberry Clearwing Moth, Buckeye, Question Mark, Virginia Creeper Moth, Pearly Crescent Spot, Spring Azure, Black Swallowtail, and Monarch.

[Gailann]

This is the first year that the tent worms or catapillars for say has eaten my Washington Hawthorn trees leaves. We have four Washington Hawthorn trees at work. Each spring when they bud I watch for buds on my tree. It never buds. I have been working in our office for eighteen years and wanted a Washington Hawthorn tree to remember the trees at work when I retire from the office. I love seeing the Cedar Wax Wings come each spring to eat the barries. I think I'll try to put another tree in next spring and see what happens