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Fruit Hedge for Exposed Site
MrsHedgehog344
Posts: 3
Hi - we have a very exposed small garden with a frequent, strong south west wind. (It blew a secured 10ft trampoline 2 fields away last winter!!). We'd like to plant a new hedge and favour some fruit bushes. My preference would be for blackcurrant, raspberry and, if possible, a smaller sloe. I'm just not sure if they would survive. Should we mix with other hedging? Is there anything we can do to make it stronger?
Thanks
0
Posts
Thanks - I was wondering about elder too. I don't want to do blackberry as there are so many wild plants nearby already. I fancy hazel though and hadn't thought of that. I think if I put the fruit bushes down the side (it's a sort of U shape) and have more traditional hedging along the front, the fruit should work ok. I think you're right about the pruning so I'll need to work out how to weave into other plants to keep the volume.
I wouldn't call a blackthorn a fruit tree in the commonly understood way. It makes a good stock-proof hedge, but you can grow it as a hedge, or a free-standing tree. It does of course have nasty spines/thorns.
Blackcurrant and raspberry are not suitable for a hedge. Raspberry needs pruning to the ground every year and blackcurrant would not grow well in a hedge.
You might be better growing conventional hedge species as a wind-break and growing fruit trees conventionally on the sheltered side.
You could include bullace in a wild fruit hedge - it would work better than blackcurrant and raspberry and give more usable fruit than sloe http://www.readsnursery.co.uk/categories/Plums-and-Gages/Bullaces/
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.