barbed wire substitute?

[bruceb3]

I know this an odd question. I live in SE Michigan and I need to know the prickliest vegatation we can plant inside our fence. No, I'm not antisocial, it's just that the company I work for have had our trucks broken into numerous times. We have a 7 ft. cyclone fence topped with barbed wire. They just cut the links on the fence in one hidden corner between the buildings to get in. We thought if we planted something really prickly and bushy in that corner it would help. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[grandpasrose]

Welcome to the forum Bruceb3!!
You are right - this isn't a request we see every day!
Some pretty nasty plants that you might want to try are:
- Barberry
- Hawthorn
- Cactus
- Holly
- Brambles - raspberry, blackberry
- Roses
Hope you can find something here, and that it does the trick!
Feel free to stop back in anytime!

Val

[Grey]

ooohhhh Barberry. OWCH. Good call!
Here's a photo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barberry

[opabinia51]

Another possibility is Gorze. VERY prickly.


My initial thought was of course blackberries but, I see that Val has a great list that includes blackberies

[bruceb3]

Thanks for the replies, everybody! Barberry sounds like it would do the trick. Hopefully, it would grow well in SE Michigan. If not, blackberries will grow here, I'm sure. Thanks again.

[bruceb3]

Out of Gorse, Barberry, or Blackberry, which would grow the fastest in Michigan?

[grandpasrose]

I can't really tell you which would be the fastest, although I suspect it would be Blackberry, just because of it's growth habit.
You do need to know that all three of these are considered to be invasive, meaning they spread out quite a bit. So if that isn't what you want, than you should consider some thing else.
Also, you are in Plant Hardiness Zone 4a to 5b, and some cultivars of Barberry are not hardy enough for that, so if you choose Barberry, make sure it is a cultivar that is hardy to your Zone.
Hope this helps, and you keep those guys out!!

Val