Blackthorn hedge in Nova Scotia, Canada
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Newbie. 1st post. Looking for information/experiences about growing Blackthorn bush hedge in Nova Scotia. (Eastern Canada). How much does it grow in a year? Plant spacing? How long should I anticipate before I can harvest any fruit? Possible wine or Sloe Gin/Vodka. Sloe gin is the missing ingredient for a bar drink from the 1970s and 80s called: “A slow comfortable screw up against a brick wall” I did not make it up. It contains Sloe Gin, Southern Comfort, Vodka, Orange juice, Galiano. (Screwdriver + Harvey Wallbanger + Southern Comfort + Sloe Gin). A designated driver is required. I know that some of this post is not directly topic related. I add it for background information only.
Hello crazycatladysdad, I can only vouch for England but the blackthorn is a pretty fast grower in my areas (Northern England). I do prefer to check on its growth very often in spring: every time it grows a few centimeters, say 10 or so, I snip the tip off to get a lot more branching out. But I’m more into the hedge than the fruits, so my technique leads to a dense hedge but I get less flowers (and fruits).
Most of my hedge has always had sloes, there’s only one that I started myself from a cutting, it bore its first flowers after 3 summers and I got a few fruits that year. You’d possibly get fruits in the second year if you graft a branch from an older shrub onto a sapling you started the year before.
That does sound like a delicious drink but that’s way over the top for my own consumption!
“You got to be a gardener to appreciate dirty and muddy hands.”
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