Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica) - white flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Indian Hawthorn

Rhaphiolepis indica

Also called india hawthorn and hong kong hawthorn

Also comes in pink.

Indian Hawthorn blooms from April through May.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
Apr–May
checked
Hardiness
Zones 8–10
checked
Sun
Full sun
checked
Water
Moderate water
checked
Mature size
5 ft × 5 ft
checked
Type
Shrub
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Indian Hawthorn

Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 8–10. Expect it to reach about 5 ft tall and 5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years (a house reading).

No toxicity note is on file for Indian Hawthorn. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.

Verification
What was checked

Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 7 sources it was checked against

When to plant Indian Hawthorn

Plant Indian Hawthorn in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 9, the middle of its hardy zones 8 to 10, spring means January to March and fall means October or November. Once settled, it blooms from April to May.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in January. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Indian Hawthorn get?

Illustration of Indian Hawthorn drawn to scale beside an adult5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult5 ftwide
About 5 ft tall and 5 ft wide at maturity: about as tall as an adult.

See Indian Hawthorn in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Indian Hawthorn

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Indian Hawthorn about 5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
5 ft apart
Per 10 sq ft
one needs about 25 sq ft
4 by 8 ft bed
about 1

Add Indian Hawthorn to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Indian Hawthorn's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 7 published sources on September 26, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
  • NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
  • RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
  • Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and diseases
  • Plant Addicts(the queue's store), Indian Hawthorn category pageheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, trait tags, soil and pests
  • University of Florida IFASUF/IFAS Extension Gardening Solutionsheight, sun and pests
  • Plant Addicts(the queue's store), article 'Is Indian Hawthorn Poisonous?'toxicity

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

1 more variety in the Indian Hawthorn group

Same plant, same care - pick the variety you are growing.

Compare every variety in the Indian Hawthorn group

Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.

VarietyColorBloomsHardinessSunSize (H × W)
Indianthis pageWhiteApr–MayZones 8–10Full sun5 ft × 5 ft
Snow WhiteWhiteApr–MayZones 7–10Full sun3.5 ft × 4.5 ft

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