Living fences

Some of the mentioned plants are toxic to animals...Joan

I used to work for a cloistered convent. There were roses all along the inside of the wall. Outsied the wall was a staggered 3 rows of hawthorns. Other things that help are wild blackberries and bitter oranges (which will grown in zone 6)

Bamboo comes in two primary types. Some grow by runners (which is what you are talking about) and can spread easily and aggressively. Others grow in clumps (out of those ring looking joints every foot or so) from bamboo shoots that are buried. You can tell the two apart pretty reliably by looking at where they come out of the ground...if they come out in densely spaced singles, they grow by runner, if they come out in more loosely spaced clumps, they grow by 'planting' mature logs. They second type would be much more work and much slower to establish (you'd probably wait for it to mature, they have to 'plant' mature shoots where you want the fence, but would not have any invasive problem with it. If the runners are in an area that gets plowed at least somewhat regularly, say between a road and a tilled field, they can be nice without problems.

I have a question about black locust for someone with more experience with it than I. I was thinking about planting it in an area that I would like to turn into a vineyard after a few years. Some of them could be harvested for trellis posts, and some of them could be heavily pruned then possibly kept barely alive as a 'living post' without too much shade on the vines. Is this crazy or a decent idea? Am I better off just planting locust somewhere else and harvesting them for posts? Are there any other fast growing rot resistant trees that I should consider for posts in the mid atlantic coastal area (central NJ)?

Depending on where you are you'll want to make different choices. If you are in a area where osage is native I would highly suggest that. Among the alternative names of osage is hedge apple. It was used extensively for hedging and is a good choice for the job. Another good choice (very popular in the UK) is blackthorn, the tree/hedge that sloes grow on. I haven't found a source for them stateside however. They grow tight, lay well, have thorns and supply a great resource if you enjoy sloe gin (which I do) You can not however simply plant them and wait for a fence to grow. You have to learn about hedge laying. As stated above it is quite a bit of work, at least initially. However, once it is laid upkeep is relatively minimum. Horse high and hog tight is the rule on hedges and they do a great job at keeping animals in or out, both 2 and 4 legged. They also supply a wind break, animal habitat and depending on species selected, another harvest.

J

Prickly Pear Cactus makes a very good living fence. Not only keeps man / critters from crossing, but you can eat the young fresh pads and fruit as well.

I am forming living brush piles by cutting down (but not completely cutting off) the branches of trees, than tying the downed branches together to form great animal / small game habitat. All kinds of wildlife benefit from this.

England has hedges which are centuries old.

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