Gardener Bob: Plant Pyracanthas to Beat Burglars

The theft happened in the middle of the night. Twice. And the loss from the garden shed was not great in monetary terms but it was devastating in terms of gardening equipment.

Let me explain: I am bounded by fields on two sides and access – if you’re entering legally – would be through a six-foot high gate at the rear. If you’re entering the way my burglars did it is over or through the hedge.

It was clear the first theft was over the beech fence because the thief left a flattened path over the top of it. The second break-in was through a part of the hedge where hawthorn mixes with holly, where there is now a man-size hole.

What could I do, short of mounting gun-turrets and searchlights? Get a flock of geese, suggested a friend. Great idea, they were the preferred look-outs of the Romans, back in the day. But….not for me.

Get a dog, suggested another. Yeah but he’ll probably only lick a burglar to death.

Plant pyracantha, suggested my old allotment mate. Not only will they look great, provide lots of berries for the birds in winter and grow quickly, no burglar would ever dare take on a pyracantha hedge.

Berries and Flowers

So I looked seriously at it, as you should too, and not only if you are worried about deterring thieves. Let me tell you more. Pyracanthas deliver a blizzard of summer flowers, their berries are a profusion of colour and in plentiful amounts, and they have three other dependable, yet less obvious, features.

In June, the flat heads of small white flowers cover the plants, shown off well by the rich, dark evergreen foliage. By September – and continuing through the winter – the flowerheads mature into clusters of scarlet, orange or tallow berries, which on a normal thriving plant seem to drip from the branches like jewellery.

Not only do the berries shine in the low winter light but blackbirds, thrushes and fieldfares love them. Or seem to anyway, because they are always pecking at them. Birds also love pyracanthas for their dense evergreen foliage and branching structure which create popular nesting sites for blackbirds and thrushes, especially when trained against a fence or wall.

Fast-growing hedges

And now, the factor that first attracted me even though many people see it as a disadvantage. The thorns. Nice and sturdy and very, very sharp. And no amount of trying to avoid them will work as they’re so plentiful. Perfect for deterring those burglars!

I now have pyracanthas growing round my garden perimeter. It is not quite a deterrent yet but it will be in a few years because the plant grows so swiftly. The one requirement is to keep it pruned to shape, making sure it is shaped to cover the area I need it to cover. Pruning is not usually so necessary as simply tying plants to walls and fences to make sure it fills spaces evenly does the trick.

Pyracanthas can grow rather large – and by that I mean more than 3 metres – but they can be reined in with thoughtful cutting of straggly branches for Christmas; they make great decoration and an acceptable replacement for holly, which can often be difficult to find.

Pyracanthas thrive on cool north and east–facing walls in just about any soil that’s reasonably fertile. Get planting to make life hard for those burglars!

 

by Bob Graham

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