Blackthorn Hedging

Blackthorn Hedging – Prunus spinosa

Blackthorn Hedging – Prunus spinosa is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall, which can be used as a hedge or part of a mixed hedge, with blackish bark and dense, stiff, spiny branches. The flowers have creamy-white petals; they are produced shortly before the leaves in April. The fruit is called a “sloe” which is black with a pale purple-blue waxy bloom, ripening in autumn. It is our native plum. Both Blackthorn and Whitethorn are very popular with farmers.

Hyland’s Price List – Blackthorn Hedging

Type of Blackthorn plants you can buy and when to plant them

Bare rooted:

There are plants that have no soil on their roots. They are usually small, single stemmed plants.  It is important when you get these plants that you keep the roots moist and don’t let the roots dry out.  You should keep them in the bag or heal the roots into sand or soil until you are ready to plant them. You should try to have the ground ready before you get them, and plant them as soon as you get them so they have a good chance of success.  They should be planted between November and March but the earlier in the winter the better as it gives the roots a chance to settle in before the growth starts. This is the most common way to buy Blackthorn.

Planting Tips – Blackthorn Hedging

Distance apart:

Smaller Blackthorn plants should be planted at a distance of 30cm apart in a single row or sometimes people prefer to plant them in a double row with plants 50cm apart in each row, the distance between the two rows is usually 30-50cm. Larger plants won’t need to be planted as close, but how close will depend on how soon you want your hedge to look full.

Preparation before planting

The ground should be clean and free from weeds and grass.  This gives the new plants a good chance to get established.  If the area you are going to plant them in has grass or weeds, the ground should be sprayed off a week or so before planting to avoid any competition. To help prevent too many weeds appearing after you have planted your hedge, I find it a good idea to put your grass clippings or mulch around the plants as this smothers out the weeds and helps prevent the plants drying out.

Depth

The plants should be planted deep enough to cover the roots. They do not like to be planted too deep as this may kill them or stunt their growth.

Blackthorn doesn’t like to be lying in water so if the area you want to plant them in is wet, you may need to consider draining the ground or making a mound/ditch of top soil on top of the ground and plant them into this.

Blackthorn can grow well in full sun and partial shade.

Aftercare

Once the Blackthorn is established you can trim it once a year.  Mid to late summer is a good time to give it a trim.  It shouldn’t be trimmed if the weather is really hot and dry.  You can give your hedge a feed of any high nitrogen feed (e.g. in the nursery we use 18-6-12) or poultry manure pellets in late spring/early summer.  If the ground needs to be sprayed for weeds, winter is the best time to spray the ground as the plants are dormant.

General Problems with Blackthorn Hedging

Rabbit and Hare damage:

You may find that your Blackthorn plant is bare at the bottom this is generally rabbit damage as they love to eat the young hedging plants.  Unfortunately the only solution we find to this is to rabbit fence, which is expensive initially but if not done can cause a lot of expense from having to replace plants and a lot of annoyance to yourself.

If the plant has been bitten cleanly off almost like a cut, this is damage by a hare.

Hunger:

If your leaves are turning yellow in the growing season, it may be hungry and your hedge may need a granule or liquid feed with high nitrogen or some poultry manure pellets.

Too much water (waterlogged):

If you have a more established hedge and it starts turning yellow, the ground may be water logged.  Blackthorn doesn’t like sitting in water for a long period of time and doesn’t like heavy wet ground.

Slow to grow

Blackthorn is slow to establish and start growing.  You probably won’t see much growth in the first two years but it should grow strongly in the third year.

If you have any questions, please do reach out to us by phone +353 87 277 3492 or email for answers.