Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) hedge plants come alive with star-shaped white flowers in early spring. With buds spanning the length of the dark branches, the flowers appear prior to the green leaves on the fast growing Blackthorn hedge plant – followed by the familiar dark blue sloe berries in autumn. A member of the rose family, watch out for the thorns adorning the Sloe Berry tree! Sloe berries are best known for their use in making the popular autumnal beverage Sloe Gin – just be sure to pick the berries before the birds help themselves!
*Please note that 1 bare root = 1 Blackthorn plant (not a bundle). A mixture of bare root photos are used, taken in leaf from our growing sites in summer, as well as during the bare root planting season when Blackthorn may be defoliated.
An abundance of small white flowers blossoming along the thorny branches of the Prunus spinosa are a welcome sight in early spring. The dense Sloe Berry tree features bright green oval shaped leaves and bears distinctive dark blue-black sloes come autumn. This native hedge plant is very popular with wildlife, attracting a host of birds and bees.
Best uses for Blackthorn hedging
A low maintenance hedging plant, Prunus spinosa is suitable for planting in most soil types, with the optimum being moist, well-draining soil in full sun. The Sloe Berry tree combines well with other native hedging and is ideal for creating the English country garden style (although equally suited to coastal situations thanks to its resilient nature). Featuring thorny branches, Blackthorn hedge plants also make an excellent intruder deterrent hedge.
Combine Blackthorn with
While striking planted as a single species, Prunus spinosa also combines very well with other hedging plants, such as Beech and Field Maple varieties, for a unique and interesting garden. View ourmixed hedging packs for some readymade bundles we’ve selected.
Growth rate of Prunus spinosa hedge plants
Blackthorn hedging has a fast growth rate of around 40-60cm of growth annually. A hedge height of between 1 to 4 metres is ideal for Sloe Berry tree hedging.
Care advice for Blackthorn hedges
An easy to care for hedge plant, we recommend trimming Prunus spinosa hedging once the sloe berries have been harvested (or during late winter). More information can be found on our Hedging Care Advice page also.
Suggested planting density for Blackthorn hedging
We have included planting density guidance for Prunus spinosa (and for each individual species/root type) in the ‘No. Per Metre’ column in the above product table.
Best4hedging have Blackthorn hedging plants available all year round as both Pot Grown and Cell Grown Plants. From November through to May you can also purchase Sloe Berry tree in bare root form with cold-stored plants used approaching the end of the season.
At best4hedging we pride ourselves on supplying the highest quality Blackthorn hedging, grown in the UK by our hands-on experts. Very occasionally, we may source Prunus spinosa from overseas but only once stringent quality checks are met. Quality and affordability are always key priorities for us at best4hedging – so you can order your Blackthorn hedging online assured of the very best service and quality every time.
Thought I would have a go at making our own sloe gin. Not sure how long I will have to wait until they fruit as bought as bare root plants
December 22, 2020 | Rob Toogood
Blackthorn hedge plants
As advertised and expected
December 11, 2020 | Anonymous
Blackthorn hedge plants
As Above
December 5, 2020 | Laura Taylor
Blackthorn hedge plants
Previous purchases established
October 31, 2020 | Deborah Clarke
Blackthorn hedge plants
As Above
October 18, 2020 | Christopher Kogel
Blackthorn hedge plants
Had lost leavez, but look well formed and healthy
September 28, 2020 | Anonymous
Blackthorn hedge plants
Good healthy plants. Actually got 2 saplings from the Hawthorn pot.
May 28, 2020 | Stuart Brunning
Blackthorn hedge plants
Only half survived by the looks of it.
April 12, 2020 | A W Wakefield
Blackthorn hedge plants
Within a week two of the six were in bud. They arrived well-packed and promptly.
April 11, 2020 | Anonymous
Blackthorn hedge plants
Good
March 29, 2020 | Anonymous
Blackthorn hedge plants
As Above
March 25, 2020 | Chris Knowles
Blackthorn hedge plants
As Above
March 23, 2020 | Anonymous
Blackthorn hedge plants
Excellent
March 12, 2020 | Anonymous
Blackthorn hedge plants
Great plants and looks like healthy roots
March 2, 2020 | David Bowers
Blackthorn hedge plants
Excellent
All Costs & Min. Order Shown as ex VAT
Min. Order Free Delivery
Bare Root
Root Ball
Pot Grown & Topiary
Cell Grown
Instant Trough
Trees
Planting Essentials
Standard Delivery £9.95
£85
Height Under 1.2m
-
Pot Size Up To & Incl 7.5L
All (Min Qty 12)
-
Ornamental & Fruit Trees
Small Hand Tools, Irrigation Canes & Mulch Matting
Rootgrow, Bonemeal, Seaweed & AfterPlant
Tall Box Delivery £15.00
£100
Height Over 1.2m
-
-
-
-
-
Large Tools
Pallet Delivery £50.00
£200
-
All
Pot Size 10L & Above & Root Ball Topiary
-
All (Min Qty 3)
Pleached & Espalier Trees (Min Qty 5)
Topsoil
Orders £85 & over (ex. VAT) to mainland UK are delivered FREE* (Exceptions apply - see below for Scottish Highlands etc)
Orders under £85 (ex. VAT) to mainland UK £9.95
At an additional cost, we can deliver to Scottish Highlands & Islands, which we classify as including AB (Aberdeen) and DD (Dundee) postcodes, as well as Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Isle Man. The exact delivery cost is order specific and will need to be quoted by one of our team, so please contact us on 01257 261 243
*For some plants that are too heavy or too tall to be packed in cardboard boxes we use pallet deliveries. In these circumstances, we require a minimum order value of £200 (ex VAT) for free delivery, or you can make a contribution towards the delivery cost. Look out for the information on product pages which explains this further where applicable and if your order is for less than £200 (ex VAT) please call or email us to agree upon a delivery contribution. This requirement only applies to those plants where it is clearly indicated on the product page
Pallet deliveries are always undertaken on an 18-tonne vehicle (similar in size to a standard refuse vehicle). If for any reason you require a smaller vehicle please contact our sales team who can arrange this for you. There will be an additional surcharge applied for small vehicle deliveries
Delivery Timescales
99% of our orders are dispatched within 3 to 7 working days of receipt and most the day after the order is placed. We can do “next day delivery” on many of our products for an additional £12 (incl VAT) but please call on 01257 494 491 before placing your order to check.
We can also deliver on a specified date to suit you. Please indicate the date you would like to receive delivery in the notes section of the checkout (or place your order by phone) and we’ll do our utmost to meet that date.
Occasional hiccups can occur (such as broken down vehicles) and although we are very experienced in logistics we cannot be held liable for costs incurred or inconvenience due to late deliveries - see terms and conditions for more information.
You will receive an email or telephone call confirming the dispatch of your order 24/48 hours before it arrives with you.
Exceptions to our quick turnaround timescale
Pre-orders - if you have placed an order that includes products on pre-order, then they will be dispatched to you as soon as they are available. If your order includes pre-order bare roots or root balls you will be notified once they are being dispatched (root balls from mid to late October and bare roots from early to mid-November).
Root balls - lifting root balls involves the use of complex, heavy machinery, this lifting is carried out twice a week in the root ball season so we do still have a prompt turnaround timescale but if your order has just missed one lifting, it will be a few days before we lift again. We are always happy to confirm when we can deliver to you before you order. The benefit of this method of supplying root balls is that they are always fresh and therefore have a higher success rate than root balls that are stored out of the soil.
Weather conditions can affect dispatch - bare root and root ball plants are not lifted if the ground is too cold (it damages the roots) and the delivery of all plants can be affected if the water supply is frozen (because we water all plants before packing). Extremely hot weather can also be challenging and occasionally we hold backorders for species that are particularly vulnerable. We ask our customers to be mindful of bank holidays when couriers are not active.
We'd like to stress that although there are exceptions, the vast majority of our orders are dispatched extremely quickly and we are proud of our logistics developed over many years of delivering plants to tens of thousands of customers.
Returns
We inspect plants carefully before dispatch but accept that very occasionally things may go wrong. You can return your plants (within 14 days) for a refund or replacement (we’ll help with the process of returning). If your plants arrived damaged then returns are free of charge. However, we ask that you inform us as soon as possible. If you’d like to return your plants because of a change of plan or if we do not agree that the plants are significantly damaged (the loss of a few leaves in transit or a loose pot on arrival, for example, wouldn't be harmful to the plants), then we may ask you to pay the full or partial return costs if you still wanted to return them. We’re very reasonable and always aim for complete satisfaction as demonstrated by our amazing Feefo customer reviews which can be viewed here.
Should you wish to return any products that you have over-bought, no longer require or purchased in error you will incur both a return cost (different charges for pallets and Boxes) and the original cost of delivery incurred by Best4hedging. Please contact the Service team for charges and/or to organise a return. Plants will be subject to a quality control check from our Nursery upon return before any refund is authorised and processed.
Please note that in the case of damaged plants, if you have not notified us of a problem within 14 days of delivery, we consider you to have accepted the plants and Best4Hedging has no further liability for them should they fail.