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I've been considering this for awhile now, and figured I might as well throw it out on here. Has anyone on here ever used an opuntia as a hedge border before? I'm looking for something to seperate my property line, and keep my neighbors from parking on my yard. If anything, I figured a cactus would do it . Are there any cacti that people use specifically for the purpose of low hedges?

pachycereus marginatus (and other tall pole-like cacti) is sometimes used as a natural fence, due to it's tendency to form very straight, tall 'poles'.
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Opuntia seems to be too fragile/wide to me, not to mention that bumping in to it (accidentally) would be rather painfull:p

EDIT: read over the "low hedge" part.
then opuntia (except maybe some cumulopuntia) certainly aren't what you are looking for I think

I do like the looks of that cactus fence, it'll probably keep their kids balls from ending up in my flower beds, at the least. Are there any columnar cacti that are native to zone 7?

I am building a cholla fence slowly around my yard. Right now they are all cuttings that are just rooted so it will take a little while but in a few years!

And btw in Mexico they do that to discourage crime. They have planted C. bigelovii and other spiny plants under their windows.

Peterthecactusguy wrote:I am building a cholla fence slowly around my yard. Right now they are all cuttings that are just rooted so it will take a little while but in a few years!

And btw in Mexico they do that to discourage crime. They have planted C. bigelovii and other spiny plants under their windows.

In Mexico, yes, my problem is, I was born in the wrong country, lol. I live in north central texas, I need a similiar species for a similiar purpose.

What about a row of Cylindropuntia imbricata? Tall and spiny, nobody will mess with it twice

yup, that could work. Or C. fulgida or C. bigelovii? or is it too cold in Texas for those?

Or you could do C. spinsior or maybe a few others.

I've been asking around here, and actually got permission to dig up a yucca off of someone elses field, so I'm wondering if that could work. Also, I talked to my mother, and she got some pampas grass one time, and she said that that stuff is razor sharp.

Yuccas are a good deterrent, but won't always grow in a neat fence-like row. In my area they have the advantage of growing easily from cuttings, and depending on the variety, some will send up sprouts from sections of the trunk if it is left lying on the ground. If they like where they are they can overgrow their area quite easily and become a pain to get rid of. (The ones that grow locally are referred to as Spanish Bayonnets, they don't have the thinner leaves that some of the varieties found in more desert-like conditions have.)

Yucca Do nursery in Hempstead TX has a big variety, and their website (yuccado.com) will provide a good bit of information about the plants.

I've been doing some research, and, alot of the columnar cacti I've found are native to south america. If they are in the same zone that I am, would it be safe to say they would survive here?

Some very nice longterm suggestions, but any cactus that isn't an Opuntia is going to take an age to amount to anything except a nuisance. I'm assuming you don't have several thousand dollars to drop on a bunch of large columnars

I have no idea whether South American columnars will survive where you are. Because I don't know where you are Brownsville isn't going to freeze many but it might rot a few, while El Paso might freeze them but won't drown a cactus.

Just so you know,
my cousin has some of those "Mexican Fence Posts" or
Pachycereus marginatus and they are like 5 years old or more at least and are only about 12 inches tall.

I personally would suggest using cholla...whatever type you like, or Opuntia (ya know Prickly Pear).

Just my two cents worth!

Agave also make a nice deterrent.

Pilosocereus Pachycladus grew 4 inches or so for me this year, practically doubling in size. I would maybe expect it to grow faster in ground, as mine ended up a bit pot bound. It might get you something decent in 3-4 years, if you buy seedlings. Otherwise I agree on the opuntia.

Myrtillocactus cuttings are cheap, you can get them with 2cm long spines, produce edible fruit (not that I have tried it) and grow quickly, but they also are sprawlers, so you might find you need to keep them trimmed.

Finally, Austrocylindropuntia Subulata is fast growing, no glochids, but with large spines, and I think its less sprawling than Myrtillocactus

I would also not consider using Yuccas for producing a natural fence. I did have one plant and it did grow rather quickly and became a huge tree-like monster that started to damage my neighbor's roof. In addition, it produced offsets from its root system. Those managed to grow underneath a brick border and showed up on the other side. It was quite some job to get rid of that plant and I got poked a number of times by its pointy and sharp stiff leaves.
With Cylindropuntias (chollas) and regular pad-forming Opuntia species (prickly pear cadti) you also will have to prune them, or they will either form a patch or have their stems stick in a direction you may not like. Be very careful though handling these, because they do have glochids (Opuntia spp.) or barbed spines (Cylindropuntia spp.).
I doubt that you will be able to grow Pachycereus marginatus (Mexican fencepost cactus) or Myrtillocactus geometrizans or other large columnar cacti at your location. I can only succeed, perhaps only for a limited time - here in El Paso, because I did plant these right against the south facing house wall and covering them up a bit during the winter months. One of the sturdy, columnar, fast-growing cacti is Cereus peruvianus. I am not sure, if that one is cold-hardy enough to survive where you are located.
I have also heard of growing Fouquierie aplendens (Ocotillo) as a hedge and maybe you could also consider those. However, they are whispy and will form mounds. I am not sure how fast they do grow.
If you do not need a "wall" that is high, but still have some good protection and you do have some time for your hedge to fill in, you could also plant a row of the Golden Barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii). This plant does grow reasonably quickly, looks good, has strong spines, and can be trusted to stay in place, because it does not form offsets (pups) easily.

Harald

Here in Israel we use Opuntia ficus-indica as a security fence. You need a lot of room for it, but you can eat the fruits and it works well on the far edge of a property to prevent vandalism or infiltration. Yep, just another cactus fighting the war on terror.

Shmuel

PS There are some very drought resistant and very spiny Acacias or other xerophytes. Check your zone though. Pampas grass (Cortaderia - check species and varieties - there may be some sterile ones available by now)is very nasty and razor sharp. If you live near open natural area it can become a very nasty invasive plant.