Height20-30cm

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• Tough, dense evergreen shrub (to 2.5–4 m) with glossy, spiny dark-green leaves (often with autumn/winter reddish or bronze tints).
• Late-spring clusters of yellow (sometimes red-tinged) flowers, followed by bloomy blue-black berries that attract birds.
• Excellent dense, thorny security or boundary hedge; also suitable as a specimen, screen, or on banks/slopes.
• Highly adaptable and hardy across the UK: tolerates most well-drained soils (chalk, clay, loam, sand; acid to alkaline), full sun to partial shade, exposed/coastal sites, wind, and some drought once established. Low-maintenance and wildlife-friendly (nesting cover, nectar, berries).

Planting advice

• Plant only while dormant, typically November–March, when the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
• Prepare the site in advance. Heel in temporarily if you cannot plant straight away.
• Wear thick gloves for handling—the thorns are sharp and persistent. 
• Dig a hole (or trench for a hedge) wide enough for the roots and deep enough to plant at the same depth as the previous soil mark on the stem. Improve heavy soil with organic matter if needed for drainage.
• Spread the roots, backfill with soil, firm gently, and water thoroughly. Apply a mulch around the base (keep clear of the stems).
• For a hedge, space at roughly 3–5 plants per metre (about 20–45 cm apart depending on size and desired density).
• Water regularly during the first growing season to aid establishment; thereafter it is largely drought-tolerant.

Once planted, it requires minimal care beyond optional light pruning after flowering if a formal shape is wanted.