USDA 11 Hedgerow safe as a solid wall

Hi all,

Growing up in Thailand as a Farmer gives me a lot (but not all) knowledge and background BUT:

There is one thing that I experienced during my visits at Mum and Dad in Law in Germany.

These beautiful and dense hedges in all kind of shapes and most impenetrable as a brick wall.

Hedges are in Thailand uncommon and so I cannot say much about these nice green borders. But I guess there are people out here who have a hedge and can help me with more Info.


I list here some "good to have" features and as first info I would tell you, we are speaking about 1 Mile or 1.6 Kilometer surrounding!!!

1. The mean feature is off cause that it has some defense systems (Thorns or Photo toxicity) keeps the bad people efficient out, so a trench behind the hedge and the dogs will be the 2nd and 3rd backup.
2. Easy to maintain. e.g. Bougainvillea require a 3 times a year cutting and pruning. Calculated by inner and outer side of the 1.6 Km hedge equals this 9.6 Kilometer hedge cutting per year. No No No!
3. Suitable for tropical climate with clear dry and wet seasons.
4. Producing edible or even marketable fruits would be an advantage (I have heard about a Salak Fruit which is hermaphrodite, does anyone have this and or knows where to get the seeds, if it produces true plants/fruits) That could be the answer in my opinion. Little Maintenance at all, thorny, fruits and compact growth.

5. What other features should a hedgerow have?

So, what would be you favorite hedge plant in USDA Zone 11 plus?

Cheers

See

Hi K. Srikham. We too have thoughts regarding hedgerows and have just surrounded 22 rai with eucalyptus posts and barbed wire. My initial thought was to plant bourginvilla, but had the same adversion to mass pruning. We are going to add euc saplings between the posts, as the termites will devour even eucalyptus wood within a few years, so these living posts will replace the termite food.
Finding a suitable plant for a living hedge that doesn't require much maintenance will be tough here, as EVERYTHING grows so rampantly. If you do find a good candidate, please post your results, as will I!

See Hes wrote:Hi all,

5. What other features should a hedgerow have?

In the US Midwest the old saying is "Horse high, bull strong, and pig tight"  for the perfect hedge.  If a horse can't jump it, a bull can't push through it, and a hog can't squeeze out of it, then you have done it right.  Here Osage Orange was used a lot.  

Osage

It has nasty thorns and grows very tight and dense when trained.  In Europe I believe hazel is more common.

I don't have any experience with Zone 11, but osage will go in zone 10, so I don't think it would be much of a stretch.  Osage also can tolerate the drought conditions the Plains can experience, so wet/dry season cycles should not be an issue.  The only deficit is lack of marketable product.  While osage is a very hard wood with a high BTU content for heat, only the female plant produces a fruit, known as a 'hedge apple'.  They are not very tasty as they are high in tannins.  Horse will eat the fruit, but not a favorite.  The wood is very durable and does not rot or decay (or very very slowly) even in contact with the ground.  Makes great handles and small work working.  Coppices well for burning with one of the highest heat release of all wood.

I have always thought bamboo would make a great barrier, although slow to establish.  Cut cured culms woven into living standing bamboo would make an impenetrable wall once established.  Then a thorny vining plant could be trellised onto to it for a deterrent.  

Hi Khun Jason,

we were watching the hedgerows at the Siam Golf Club and the gardener who is working there told us that Bougainvillea is a beautiful sight but if you are not paying some professional for pruning you will quickly losing the enjoyment.
It seems to be a very imbalanced line between pleasure and pain as the thorns have a coating that makes the sting lasting longer and provides a similar feeling than bee stings.
So Bougainvillea is a No No No.

Citrus fruits was another Idea BUT:  BUNG YAI.. Caterpillars, huge than a man's finger giving me worst nightmares by just thinking of it.

I really think about getting seeds of Salak Gula Pasir from my husband's colleague in Bali, as this Salakfruit is amongst the most expensive ones and is said to have hermaphrodite flowers.
And Snakefruit is also well armed with spines plus keeps itself in shape.
But first I want do a bit more homework about this and to pre germinate 800 of them would bust or Moo Baan garden.

Jack Edmondson,
the phrase with the horse, bull and pig is really something to remember when it comes to hedgerows and it will get a place in my mind.
Osage Orange (Macula pomifera) is described as temperate plant and by trying most of them to integrate into our collection this group created the highest losses.
Also the quality is described as 1 star taste hence the cardboard burger box from Mc Donald must taste better than the fruit.
Plus it will sure attract 1.6 Km of Caterpillar hedge.
But thank you very much for your suggestion, if many people do this I am sure we will find the ultimate hedgerow...

Who didn't know it:
Plant data bases like "Theferns- useful tropical (temperate) fruits" is a great guideline and gives you a quick overview about a Plant...

Srikham  

Glad to see Salak Gula mentioned here. Very rare to hear a mention of this amazing snake fruit. I currently grow two plants here in East Bali. I had to plant these seedlings in pots about 4 months ago due to lack of space in spite of my friends' recommendations.
These are used locally for hedges. Thorns discourage trespassers of all sorts. They can grow very big under optimal conditions (tropical with some shading), but take a while to grow. It may be an idea to plant these together with a faster growing hedge plant, say blackberry for instance.
If I needed to grow a vegetal hedge in this climate, I'd probably go with multiple species rather than a single one. Salak, blackberry, moringa, mulberry, passiflora would all be intersticed with leucania and bauhinia in a mostly edible fruit hedge!

Hi *unknown*

I have been thorugh all infos of salak plants and the Thai ones are sure good but more are going for the Bali Type.
Gula Pasir is said to be monoecious hence will you don't take the risk that you end up with a hedge of males when you go for seeds.
Beside that they seem to love the Gula Pasir most due to its sweetness and slightly " crisp sugary chew"

The hedge must be as mentioned before Horse high, bull strong, and pig tight.
If you have free range animals and may be thinking to have some Arapaima Fish in a huge pond the criminals under the Thai People can develop quite a fantasy how to get through any hedge.


So far we had a few trials and visits and the best solution by now is

Salak  (because impenetrate able and fruiting)
Bougainvillea (still impenetrate able)
Lemons/Citrus (bit out of our Zone but thorny)

The set up needs to be starting with a trench, then Salak right at the trench to avoid somebody gets hold to climb up and giant bamboo as third row..
To top it I guess a few rows Barb Wire growing into the hedge will complete the security line.

Whoever tries to go though that all will have given our very protective Dogs enough time to set up and do the welcome part by having a little chew on their butt.
(We didn't train them to do so but they had as stray dog puppies quite a history so I reckon they are just thankful to us and give in return full protection)

still we like to hear whatever possibilities are not mentioned. Mixed hedges like Moringa isn't an option as you can just too easy break a way though them.

Hi! Just wanted to drop in and see if you’d had any luck with trifoliate orange?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifoliate_orange

Isaiah Bohin wrote:Hi! Just wanted to drop in and see if you’d had any luck with trifoliate orange?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifoliate_orange

Not with that species of citrus but because of its bitterness we are not much after it.
Some Lemons do quite well here and are as much armed that the Trifolate Orange.

But Citrus fruits need to be raised and that will definitely create gaps on the ground for crawling through.
This would be not good against thieves but also would give our doggies an opportunity to advance too far and start nibbling on those culprits already on the roadside. (I guess this wouldn't be appreciated by law)

If a thief climbs through a barb wire fence, crawls through the trench, makes it somehow through the snakefruit and the bamboo that would be enough criminal energy shown to meet my dogs.
Standing against them or make a fast escape should hurt like stepping on a Lego brick in the dining room so the hunt for a perfect hedgerow is still on.  
Salak is still our favorite followed by Bougainvillea.

By the way, What happens to a Bougainvillea hedgerow if we wouldn't maintain it? Considering that we would accept the hedge will be reaching 30 ft wide and high...
That must be a paradise for snakes, birds and sure no way through.
Ever we wouldn't expect so much flowering as a trimmed Bougainvillea hedgerow.