Question regarding growing sloes

[splatcat]

which is the loe (blackthorn)

i need to put a hedge across one section of field, where my horses are, as the space beyond is a temptation (and cost me a fortune in fencing) i know it will take a few years to grow, but i thought why not Sloe? gives me a nother free supply!

Cuttings or seeds best? and if cuttings, whens the best time to take them?

also what would be the best way to root these?

[Flummery]

I've never tried either - but I have bought slips - rooted cuttings (so it's possible!) from nurseries as hedging plants - we did a wildlife hedge alongside the school field. They were very reasonable in price and within a few years made an impenetrable hedge. The bees will love you too.

[motherhen]

I would be a bit careful with the thorns they can be nasty! I put hawthorn everywhere they grow fairly quickly especially if you keep them in pots for a year or two they whizz up, as soon as they go into the ground. I dig a nice lot of horse manure in a trench where they are going to go while I'm growing them in a pot, I cheated for the first couple of hedges and brought two year old plants from a nursery they were very cheap, also you could always mix the odd sloe in. You have to keep the horses well away for at least three years as they love the new growth, but that's very useful now the hedges are bigger as they eat the young green shoots which helps to keep them under control. The wildlife love them, it was full of nests.