Sloe (blackthorn)

Prunus spinosa

A thorny hedge that blooms before it leafs; pick the sour blue sloes after the first frost. Suckers hard.

Type: shrub · berries and small fruit
Hardiness: zones 4 to 8
Light: full sun
Size: about 12 ft tall, 10 ft wide
Harvest: October to November
From: Europe and W. Asia
Drought-hardy once established
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.

Good for: food, wildlife, pollinators.

Native to: Temperate Europe, Mediterranean. Hardy in zones 4 to 8.

The story

Blackthorn hedges have bounded English and Irish fields for a thousand years, and their bitter sloes have been steeped in gin with sugar since the 1700s; the thorny wood made the Irish shillelagh and the fruit stones are found in Neolithic sites.

Planting

Full sun, any drained soil; plant bare-root in winter as a hedge or thicket, 18 inches apart. Very hardy, suckering, thorny.

Growing

Water the first year, then nothing. Cut back hard to thicken a hedge. Mow around it to stop suckers.

Harvest and use

Sloes ripen blue-black in autumn and are best picked after frost (or frozen); prick and steep in gin with sugar for three months. Too astringent raw.

What to watch for

Thorns and suckers; otherwise bulletproof.

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More berries and small fruit

General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home