Spiky low growing shrubs for under window

[elleme]

In the autumn I am thinking about taking out an unidentified yellow conifer under my living room window which has become completely bare on one side due to being overshadowed in the past and now looks rather unsightly.

I would like to plant one or two fairly spiky plants which either have an eventual height of around 3ft or can cope with being kept at that height, as burglaries aren't exactly unknown in my part of London and the back window has shown signs of an attempt to force it before. Something that can be kept dense and not pleasant to lean/crawl over. Berries would be a plus, although I guess the low-growing height might just encourage the local cats to have a go.

In my front garden I have a berberis darwinii which is good for bees in flower and blackbirds when in berry. It's been stripped by them this year. I noticed that there is a compact cultivar of it, and was tempted to buy some, but there may be spinier alternatives which are just as good in the flowering/fruiting department so I thought I'd ask around. I have also thought about gooseberries but, not having grown them before, I'm unsure whether they would suit. I also wonder whether the position would be too hot and dry for them. It would be a westfacing wall with clay soil.

Any suggestions?

[Kayleigh]

Hi elleme

You want a couple of Pyracantha red or orange berries in autumn and pretty white flowers in spring..
Blackbirds and thrush love the berries, they cope well with pruning and have lethal thorns you cant get near them without good gardening gloves

[shei111]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Hi elleme

You want a couple of Pyracantha red or orange berries in autumn and pretty white flowers in spring..
Blackbirds and thrush love the berries, they cope well with pruning and have lethal thorns you cant get near them without good gardening gloves

Exactly my thoughts. shei.

[elleme]

Thanks Kayleigh and shei111. I thought of pyracantha as one possibility, but it's already very abundant in my area. I have 2 youngish ones by walls in my garden, the surrounding estate is planted with them as hedges nearby and there's one just outside my garden which took me a while to identify as it's grown up into a tree. I'm also wondering if they are going to tolerate being kept trimmed at that height. I'm not totally against them, I just wonder if it might be better to vary it a bit more. Another thing I've wondered about is rosa rugosa, I wonder if that would work.

[peter.frances]

Try growing wild flower Vipers Bugloss great for bees,humming-bird hawkmoth.regards peter

[Ida]

What about holly? It's reasonably slow growing, and can be used for hedging, so you could keep it clipped to the size you wanted, and if you get female plants (although you'll also need a male for pollination if there aren't any already nearby) you'll have berries for the birds too. Plus it's evergreen, so will look attractive all-year-round.

[shei111]

Yes also you could have evergreen cotoneaster red berries looks very attractive, plus they are slow growing and do not get very high, shei.

[Geoff F]

The trouble with Pyracantha is that if you keep cutting it back you don't get a good display of berries.

For something really spikey which can be cropped to size, how about Berberis thunbergii. Deciduous but still looks good in winter and from spring to autumn the bright reddish purple leaves give a striking impact.

If cut carefully it will spread outwards. But, be careful when pruning, those vicious thorns easily puncture gloves; as I know all too well.

[dragonfly]

you cant beat roses fragrant and spikey easy to maintain

[Dutchess]

My first thought on reading just the title of this thread was Gooseberry !!

Certainly if you want spikes, Gooseberry sports some pretty nasty ones!

As for it's growing preferences, I'd say it isn't too fussy if mine is anything to go by. It appears to have self-seeded near the door to my largest garden shed. It never grows very high though as it is trimmed back regularly due to it's location. Originally I tried cutting it down to the ground, (as it's roots go under the shed) but it kept on coming back! It gets creosote substitute spilt on it every year when the shed gets treated, but this does not seem to hinder it's growth either. In fact, yesterday I noticed next door seems to have one sprung up in her garden too, whether that came from ours or not I cannot say, but she did not plant it herself.

Maybe a tad accademic given how resilient my plant seems to be, but the garden soil is heavy clay and the Gooseberry plant itself faces South West, straight into the prevailing wind from the sea.

This is my only experience of the Gooseberry plant, but 'hope it helps

D.