Collected Hawthorne, any opinions?

[Maros]

I've heard this about hawthorns. Maybe it's the ones that live here but I can just about guarantee a close to 100% collection rate. I chop,dig,hose the roots off and shove them in a colander with D.E. and lava.
I've also read on Bonsai 4 Me that they don't like to grow roots. I also find my experiences totally different. The dam things need repotted every year.
I treat them like elms.

Seems like Crataegus monogyna is bit different. Either you treat it like sensitive conifer when collecting, repotting or you face problems. You can do whatever to the top but touch the roots wrongly and the tree is gone. They collect easily, sprout almost all the time, but tend to die in summer or do not wake up next spring. Might as well depend on collecting location and soil. Is from a wet and heavy soil than chances for survival are much higher.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I’d also add that even with Carolina hornbeam 100% success is not guaranteed. I am 1 for 2 on them this year. I have one 2+” diameter one that sprouted and is growing great. It only had a small tap root to cut and a few roots with it. The second, a much larger one that was about 6” across, had a massive tap root that I had to slice flat—it didn’t survive. Both were potted in the same mix and treated the same—one lived, one died. I haven’t done a post mortem yet to see if it pushed any roots but it never even popped a single bud. I suspect it wasn’t all that healthy to begin with as most of the center was rotted out.