Got an idea

Was in the thinking room and read an article in Mother Earth News on making a living fence.

I want some sort of living fence between me and the neighbors and thought this might be a good idea.

The plant they were showing is an osage orange aka hedge apple.

After reading up on em, the fruit might not be very lawn mower friendly.

Sooo I did notice in the article and other sites that you can use apple trees to do the same thing.

Making a fence out of apple trees sounds like a damn nice idea. Keep the neighbors out and feed me with apples. lol

Sooooo have any of you guys ever dealt with the hedge apples or even the regular apple tree, know of anyone who has used this method to make a tree?

Ever been in the upper Northwest? They have blackberries everywhere. Not even a rabbit can get through that thorny shit and lots of good blackberries all summer.

Do they grow up here in the tundra?

Good question, they have pretty mild weather there. You probably need more of an arctic species. Raspberry bushes do grow quite well in Alaska so maybe those would work.

I planted some Red leaf Photinias between a neighbor and me. Don't know how they would do up North but they got 8' tall before I trimmed em back

Found out that we live in Zone 4 for planting.

Sooo gotta get a bit of a hardy plant that the f-ing rabbits, etc dont eat to the ground in the winter, and grow to be at least 4 foot tall.

Dont mind letting the neighbors know Im topless, but the bottom is still my turf! LOL

You might consider siberian peashrub, cotoneaster or even a lilac. Give me a while and I will probably know some more from my western landscape design class. Those are three popular hedges here in Laramie. I wouldnt use osage orange for a decorative fence.....but those things were fun to throw at eachother as kids!

http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6048436_fruit-trees-grow-south-dakota.html

the osage orange fruit will help keep bugs and spiders out of buildings

probably cheaper and faster to use 6 x 8 fence panels

Spart you might want to look into hedges.

http://landscaping.about.com/cs/hedgesfences/a/privacy_fences.htm

I'm not sure of the correct names but the one's I had here would grow over 7 feet high. Pita to keep trimmed but critters didn't eat them.

Yeppers AC thats what Ive been thinking of for a year or two now.

Trying to get the wife to decide on something, trying is the key word.

Thought if I could, I dont know get apple trees or something, (she likes apple trees)I could do that.

Keep the f-ing dogs out and prying eyes away.

Also thought that they could work as a windbreak in the winter.

Keep some of the neighbors snow in the neighbors yard, ya know.

I don't think apples will make a hedge very well.....if you have panels you could try growing Virginia creeper on them or common hops (they are spiny when green). Just put up a hotwire for the dogs!

While fences are nice I've long held the opinion that having one of these on the roof would keep nebshit neighbors, burglars, Jehovah's minions, the IRS and every other idiot the fuk out of my yard.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2541/3761553297_52328e83f8_z.jpg?zz=1

Ill take two please

heck I want one of those for the back of my truck
Dallas got voted the most unfriendly (thats road rage)city to drive in, in The USA
I really never notice it myself. Its amazing what we can get used to
Is a 8' tall wood fence outta the question for your house?

I could put up a big old fence but would rather do something living so I can get something out of it, so to speak.

WOuld love to put up a row of rose bushes, but that would be more expensive than the fence.

CJ,s 67 F100 wrote:
heck I want one of those for the back of my truck
Dallas got voted the most unfriendly (thats road rage)city to drive in, in The USA
I really never notice it myself. Its amazing what we can get used to
Is a 8' tall wood fence outta the question for your house?

I spent 5 or 6 years living 75 miles east of Dallas and found the locals to be the rudest, most inconsiderate group of drives I have ever lived around. Not all of them mind you but a larger percentage than I had ever been around.

what about hollys--cheap fast growers---prickly bastards too

Always said if I'd had a girl I was going to plant a hedge outside her bedroom window
Japanese, Chinese or whatever Holly
It stopped my a$$ from a couple of late night visits in my teen years
Come to think of it, I should have planted it outside my son's window LOL