[grunt&groan]

I am waiting delivery off some prunus spinosa aka blackthorn  and am hoping someone can advise reasonable distances to plant them to create manageable bushes or small trees rather than standard hedge layout to allow generous crops of sloes for sloe gin production.

[flowerlady]

Are you going for a wild life hedge or specimen bushes??  If you are going for sloes ... I would think that keeping the bush low would be a benefit. !!  

When I was in France last year I discovered sloes growing wild ... they formed clumps no tallerer than 4 foot, but they spread making the best sloes unreachable!!  (that's without beging lacirated to bits!!)

If I were you I would tend to train them into a boundary hedge shape wide but slim enough to get at from both sides    

Pollination might also be a concern ... other fruits placed nearby that flower at the same time would be an advantage to encourage the 'friendlies'

... or a liberal planting of poached egg plant  :shock: ... great weed suppressant and flowers early  

Good Luck ... oh!! ....  and buy some long stout gloves      

[grunt&groan]

thanks for the reply flowerlady. since my first query, i have stopped up a shortcut through part of my plot with the plants, and will be leaving them small and manageable since finding the whole area around here is awash with the beautiful white blossom of prunus spinosa, so there should be a bountiful harvest come october/november  :roll: