Blackthorn, Sloe

I was introduced to homemade sloe gin while serving in the military in the UK. It is a wonderful thing bearing little in common with the ...Read Morecommercial product sold here in the US. I'm in New Jersey and have tried to cultivate this plant for quite a few years. Growing from seed has been a total failure. Small saplings were all eaten by deer another year. I finally had success by raising small plants indoors for a full year and putting them out in spring when they were about 18" tall. Its now 19 months later and they are over 6' tall and generally healthy. In spring earlier this year, they had a small number of flowers. No fruit this year but I have hopes for next year. The leaves will all drop in a few months and I plan on wrapping the plants lightly with single layer of burlap to prevent damage from deer.

Similar to Hawthorn and often grows alongside it; the two trees have very similar flowers but blackthorn flowers about 6-7 weeks before h...Read Moreawthorn and has bluish black berries, hawthorn has red berries. The two can be hard to tell apart in winter when berries and leaves are gone.
Makes a very striking sight when in flower as most other trees are still bare, also because the flowers open before the leaves. Grows to about 15 feet, can reproduce by suckering as well as seeds spread by birds.

The fruit even now in December there are here in Bosnia (but the snow has fallen and can not pick them any more). I like to eat it fresh,...Read More and it is possible to make juice and jam from it. I think that is very healthy.

I am a forester based in the UK - some of our work includes the clearance of shrubs such as blackthorn - I have experienced skin infectio...Read Moren from handling the thorns of the plant - eg when pricked by the thorns, the area can get extremely inflamed and be very painful for at least a couple of days. I have been advised by my pharmacy to use Magnesium Sulphate Paste to bring down the swelling. I am not sure if this problem is unique to me but would advise others to handle the plant with care.