Prickley Very Fast Growing Security Hedge
dcallaghanmsc
Posts: 1
Hey there. I want the world on a shoe string... I am looking for a hedge to provide security from hunters and kids walking through my yard as if they own the place.. If there is a perfect recommendation - which I doubt...This is for the end of my landscaped yard that turns in to 2 acres of owned woodland. It is out of the way but quite a bit of shade cover.
About 50 ft
Shade Tolerant
Immediate impact/fast growing
As cheap as can be
As thorny as they come to deter folks
Not too bothered on appearance but would be nice to be evergreen to provide privacy through winter as well as summer
Zone 7 north New Jersey
I was looking at forsythia based on size and cost ($20 per root) but appreciate these arent thorny (but can grow thick) and arent every green. Not sure if they are shade tolerant.
I can plant double width if needed but again - cost for results is the key. Nobody will really see it so it doesnt have to be a picasso 
. The sooner I can reeducate the locals that my yard where my kids and dog hang out is not a public footpath - the better.
Posts
HELLO THERE,
MOST OF US HERE (ABOUT 98%) LIVE IN UK, OR IN EUROPE, WITH A SMATTERING OF OTHER PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE.
WE ARE FORTUNATE TO BE LARGELY FREE FROM HUNTERS (OTHER THAN THE ODD CAT OR KESTREL) AS GUNS ARE VERY STRICTLY CONTROLLED HERE, UNLESS YOU HAPPEN TO BELONG TO THE NOBILITY OR ARE A FARMER.
CHEAP PRICKLY HEDGES? NOTHING COMES CHEAP THAT IS INSTANT. I HAVE NEVER MET IT, AND WOULDN'T RECOGNISE IT IF I SAW IT, BUT I HAVE HEARD THAT POISON IVY IS SOMETHING TO BE AVOIDED IN YOUR COUNTRY.
ANY GOOD?
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
Do you get blackthorn in the US? You may not get many sloes growing in the shade but I think the bushes would grow well enough, if you can get them over there. They are viciously thorny and grow quickly
ETA - we get 'hunters' here, Pansy. By which I mean the local pheasant shoot who don't come into the garden but do shoot over the house
. And the local stag hounds (x2). Most of the former are from London coming out for a weekend 'in the country' to kill birds (they miss a lot more than they hit)and the latter are generally all farmers but not using guns, just dogs.
Last edited: 02 August 2017 21:28:07
Berberis julianae is totally brutal and quick growing when established .
Agree with you Paul B3 - Berberis is evil!
Why not plant Atropa belladonna and put a PYO board up in late summer (Pick Your Own) ?
YOU PLAGUED BY STAGS DOWN YOUR WAY, RAISINGIRL? STAG HOUNDS.
WOULD STAG HOUNDS SORT OUT STAG NIGHTS? WE HAVE A FAIR FEW OF THOSE ROUND HERE AND I COULD DO WITH SOMETHING TO FIX THEM.
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
I've a suspicion they'd be more likely to join in than fix them
.
We planted a hawthorn hedge (crataegus) in our last garden - planted maiden whips in autumn in well prepared soil - dug a trench and enriched it with compost and manure then watered well after planting - cut them to 9" and the whole thing grew 6 to 8' in its first year. Trimmed it by half the following autumn to encourage it to thicken up and it grew the same amount the following year.
It is deciduous but gets quite thick if kept trimmed as a hedge so good for privacy tho it will also grow into large trees if you let it so you could space trees in the hedge. It is prickly and thorny, provides blossom in May then berries in autumn with attractive foliage. Very hardy too.
Mix it up with some pyracantha for extra thorns with evergreen foliage. It won't grow to tree size but will help with making a good barrier.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
If you plant a deciduous hedge you could, once it's established, grow ivy through it which is evergreen. By ivy I mean Hedera helix, not poison ivy.