Frangula, Alder Buckthorn, Fernleaf Buckthorn, Glossy Buckthorn, Tallhedge Buckthorn 'Ron Williams'

Although this cultivar is supposed to be non-invasive, the sale of all Rhamnus frangula plants are now banned in my state (Massachusetts)...Read More. I planted two of these shrubs in 2007. I haven't noticed any self seeding from these shrubs. They have gotten larger than I was led to believe at the time of purchase. They are in part sun, and were 11' tall x 4' wide (335 cm x 120 cm) before I pruned them for the first time yesterday. The pruning was quite easy, and lower branches hide the cuts I made near the top.

I notice the description on this page says the plant requires consistently moist soil, but I only give mine supplemental water if I haven't had significant rain for a month.

does anyone know if this plant is poisonous to livestock, goats in particular?

With shrub honeysuckles, glossy buckthorn often forms solid understories in natural forest areas of northeastern North America. Like the ...Read Morehoneysuckles, it leafs out very early, shading out the native herbaceous layer.

This spiny invasive species is a listed noxious weed, invasive, or banned in five states. Birds eat the fruit and then distribute the seed far and wide through the landscape.

This species was used for hedging in the 19th century, but it went out of use as better hedging plants became available.

Five years ago the landscaper planted 3 of these 'hedges' on either side of my entrance. He led me to believe that they would not go abo...Read Moreve 6 feet. Three of them have and the other 2 have not. One of them died. They are still rather narrow and I would like to trim the tall ones to the size of the smaller ones without just chopping off the top. Any suggestions?