Urgent security hedge help needed

Hi all, newbie here.

I need to create a 300 foot long security hedge a.s.a.p. but dont have much funds to do so.

Trespassers and vandal kids are becoming a huge problem and I would like something with sharp thorns for some extra deterrent.

Im happy to use absolutely any native or non native species as long as it becomes hardy and established very quickly.

Are there any evergreen, thorny hedge plants that grow as quickly as russian vines ? We have 1 russian vine which is superb in summer but useless in winter.

I dont care what this hedge looks like, smells like or how wild and unmanageable it may become because its not an issue and there are no neighbours to worry about.

Ideally I need to plant or sow before the end of this month.

A fence cannot be used for numerous reasons.

Any advice would be great, thanks.

 

Berberis would be your best bet, Backache. Relatively cheap too. Pyrocantha mixed in would give more strength, and you could always say you were doing it for the wildlife, as they have good berries, and are so dense and full of thorns that birds will happily nest in it!


Here's a link to berberis

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/Index.cfm?fuseaction=product.standard&continueaction=category.search&search=berberis&producttype_id=48005

and to pyrocantha

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/Index.cfm?fuseaction=product.standard&continueaction=category.search&search=pyracantha&producttype_id=48008

I've used that firm for plants before, and am happy with them - but there are loads more out there on the web! :D

Used to live in Herts myself...... and know all about the hooligan aspect in certain areas..

 

Brambles are good, but do form a really thick hedge widthwise that is, gorse could be planted in with the brambles.
I planted selfsown seedlings when I made a similar hedge, it then self propagates each autumn by tip layering itself.
Mines about seven foot high now, and really dangerous. :D

 

And then there's sea buckthorn...... really vicious thorns.... or a quickset hedge with allsorts, including having brambles scurrying through it....

That could include hawthorn, quickthorn, and all sorts..

http://store.ashridgetrees.co.uk/Hawthorn-Quickthorn

 

Stinging nettles and brambles :D
Seriously though, Dendrodium's suggestions should do the trick, you could stick some holly in there too.
A warm welcome to you backache and good luck

 

My first thoughts were berberis and gorse (yeeouch!), they've both been mentioned! Another thought (I'm going from personal experience here) would be a really thorny rambling rose running through too. I bought one from a carbootsale - the seller assured me it was not thorny - HA! My shredded hands prove her wrong every time I tackle it with the shears!

I wonder what kind of rose is it you see in carparks etc? They have exceptionally thorny stems! Must be pretty robust if councils use them widely!

 

Rosa rugosa, Jarbax! Evil stuff!

 

I don't think so not in Herts such a nice place

 

Arrgghh, ive just typed a long reply and then it dissapeared from my screen before posting !

Here we go again then,

Thanks for all the prompt replies, ive read all of them and will read up on everything suggested.

I meant to say that the area already has brambles which were unfortunately hacked backed severely by a local authority, I have since told them not to do it again. Is there any way to encourage rapid regrowth of brambles ?

As mentioned by yourselves I cannot risk planting expensive semi mature bushes that may get trodden on and snapped during the summer months.

This may sound silly but I actually looked for packs of nettle and bramble seeds but I cannot see that anyone would want to stock them.

Someone has told me to reconsider russian vines and plant them more dense so that there is still a barrier in winter, the main months of summer are when the kids are at their worst ! and when it gets cold and wet they tend to go somewhere else.

Pyrocantha and gorse look perfect but will cost a fair bit to buy at 2-3 foot.

At least I have loads of suggestions to consider.

Many thanks.

p.s. herts is lovely until some jobsworth from the authorities dumps a public footpath adjacent to your boundary and directly connecting a 'trouble area' to what was once a very pleasant and safe place. The government call it "social engineering" and it doesnt work !

 

Hi Backache....

Pyrocantha is a really good hedging bush, and pretty too. If you want a quick fix, go for the brambles/ gorse solution, with maybe a longer term solution in the background. I'm sure we could send you loads of Pyrocantha berries you could plant and as they grow, you could clear the brambles, etc....

 

Brambles will grow back very fast as a response to being hacked back, so that solve that particular problem! It's a strange thing, that plants generally respond to hard pruning by vigorous growth - useful in your case! :D

Yes - I lived very happily in Herts for 14 years - but we had a lane a few houses along from us, and the local kids hung out along there.... the rubbish was the least of the problems :rolleyes:

 

"Brambles will grow back very fast as a response to being hacked back"

We lost 80% of the cover provided by the brambles due to an overzealous guy on one of those tractor things with a sideways trimmer, he went way beyond the boundary that he was supposed to be trimming and almost anihilated the lot, whats worse is the fact that they were just becomming properly established after years of poking them in the right directions and twisting them about.

You can imagine how I felt.

Can I put some sort of fertiliser or liquid on them to make them go "mad", so to speak ?

 

Berberis is about as close to natural Razor Wire as you'll get. It propagates quite easily from cuttings if you can find a bush to snip from.
I would guess your brambles will shoot up again fairly quickly and may well come back thicker due to the "prune", though you will of course have lost the benefit early in the year. As far as miracle fertilisers go, I can't think of a magic potion but a decent general fertiliser should help a bit.
If your hedge has been damaged by your local council you should be able to make a claim against them and perhaps their parks department could come up with some replacement plants.