All Winter the birds have been eating on the Pyracantha berries. Right on time, the Cedar Wax Wings arrived a week ago. They finished them up this this morning. It is amazing to watch them work.
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I spent the last couple hours cutting them back some. They have thorns, and I am full of punctures now. They make a great yard bush as they grow fast, require no work but trimming back what you don't want. They would make an excellent yard border as the thorns would keep out all the neighbors. In Sunshine, they can put out ten foot branches in a year, so keep that in mind when planting. You might see it labeled as "Firethorn" at the plant shop. They don't cost much and no need to buy a big one as they grow quickly. My little dog also eats the berries. They are not poisonous. In fact you can google and find recipes for jelly. They put out a million tiny flowers in Spring and the Bees flock in. You can trim it as a bush, a tree, or even a 20 foot vine. Here is one trimmed to a trellis I found on the web.
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I have two types, an orange berry and a red berry. The orange must ripen fist as they are the first eaten. In my yard, Thrush, Thrashers, Cardinals, Mocking Birds, Towhees, and Titmouse spend the Winter eating them. Then in Spring the flocks of Robins and Wax Wings clean them out in a few days. We are not talking a few berries like a holly, but millions -> adds great Winter color.
Here is one someone trimmed to a hedge. Like most of my yard, I just let mine grow as they choose and cut them back as they bother me.
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Give this plant a try.
Kingman, a few of these along your yard by the creek would really light up your back yard. You could just stick them in and forget them. No trimming, no fertilizer, just a nice bird friendly barrier.