Fast growing, prickly deterrent hedge?

Hello

Could anyone please give any recommendations as to a fast growing, prickly hedge with a dense year-round foliage? I need one that is going to grow quickly and spread if possible, to around 3m+ in height. The soil is quite thin and the area is fairly shaded so it will have to be something hardy that will not require any maintenance.

Thanks

 

Try Bramble & Gooseberry. Height may be an issue.

You can also eat the results - unless the Burglars, not being able to get in, nick the fruit for spite.

 

Probably a fence is what you after :thumb:

Holly comes to mind but very slow growing which is evergreen but £££ expensive , hawthorn is cheep quick to grow and prickly but not evergreen but all hedges take at least 3 years to settle in before they look good .
You have mentioned shaded what from ?? house trees ???

plus you will need to sort the soil out as well as a hedge will be there for years so you would need to improve the soil with compost etc .....

All hedges need looking after

Anyway welcome to the forum, others may sugets other plants you could grow

Spruce

 

I'd go for bamboo .... not pricky, but hardy and will reach the height in 1 season, will never need pruning if you choose one that grows 3m high ... is evergreen and looks very good all year round ... choose a non invasive one that grows in clumps, and read up about how to plant etc ... there are bamboo forums explaining how to plant and what to plant etc ... herewith an example

Fargesia robusta

on a sideline, bear in mind that if you grow a hedge higher that 2m, and your neighbour complains, you will be forced by law to trim it back to 2m at your own cost

 

For prickly hedges I would suggest Berberis or Pyracanthus , though they are not particularly quick growing. You need to consider the length of your hedge and the cost you are willing to pay. There are hedging plant companies ,if you google , who will supply hedging shrubs in large numbers. This site below will give you a start

Unsure of What Hedge You Would Like : ShrubsDirect.com

 

I dont think its possible to get a hedge that grows quickly to 3 m high but requires no maintenance.
If its not maintained its not a hedge, its a row of trees.

 

or bamboo

 

Cant see it reaching 3 m quickly unless you start with large plants.

And I think I could just walk through a bamboo "hedge" for its first three years at least.

 

I've been cutting a client's Pyracanthus today that grows along the side of the house and I can confirm that it's very spikey and grows fast. It's put on at least a foot since the spring.

 

takes 3-4 years (or longer) to get 6 foot high when you plant a small young one

 

I think if it was me doing this, I'd go for a mixed hedged, with fast growing stuff to get the height quickly, mixed with thorny stuff to be the deterrent, and some evergreens for the year round interest.

My dad is a fan of willow "fedges", a cross between a fence and a hedge made from willow poles shoved into the ground that then readily root and grow. There are hybrid ones readily available (just google "willow fegde") that can gain 6ft in a single year.

I'd chuck some wild roses in there too, just because there is nothing more fearsome than the thorns of wild roses. Hawthorn and Blackthorn have longer thorns than roses, but roses have the nasty hooked thorns that you barely feel go in, until you pull away and they try to skin you alive.

 

My pyracanthas were slow to get going but now are absolutely rampant and need about 2' cut off each year. They are not pleasant to prune, either. Otherwise i'd say that's your best bet.

 

http://www.stockphotography.co.uk/Upload/Stock/Watermarked/24396.jpg

barbed wire fence .... to the height you want .... cheap and can be erected in a day

a few climbing roses ... and you have security, pretty flowers and thorns ... if you still have problems ... a couple of rottweilers for extra measure

don't laugh .... this is what is done in south africa .... but they also include electric fence, and cctv

 

Not forgetting the airosol hairspray can and ciggarette lighter

Jack McH