Thorny Issue

All sorts of climbing roses would do the trick. But, if you don't want to deal with the silly amount of care some roses need, you could achieve the same purpose using barberry, will will not only stop children, but kill and eat them. It will do the same for dogs.

Some people say deer will jump over a 6 ft barrier. If that's true, you'll need to grow the barberry higher. Keeping those bushes trimmed will be interesting, sort of like a combination of 3rd degree burns and brain cancer. But, given a tall ladder, thick denim clothing, leather gloves, and a tarp for catching the trimmings, it can be done.

Many antique roses suit this purpose well. Here is a link to a particularly thorny rose which doesn' thave a lot of problems if provided with cool roots and mulch preventing splashing soil up on the undersides of the foliage:

What about trying to plant a pyracantha? I don't know if this is a vine but it will grow quickly, has lovely berries and has lots of thorns.

Good luck, Lorr.

Damn you. You've just reminded me of something else I needed to spend money on. :-)

How tall can they grow?

You could grow a hedge of rosa rugosa. Very hardy. Spreads rapidly. No one will dare trying to go thru it. Extremely fragrant flowers. Beautiful red rose hips in the fall. Downside: attracts Japanese beetles.

-alan sung Hopkinton, MA (Zone 6a)

Hmmm....

It is not a vine however a "Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn" tree is a real nasty evil tree. I have one in my yard, I plan on shredding it sometime soon. Easy growing and cheap $20, I found one at a LOWES hardware store.

The thorns are horrible. The thorns are long 2-5" with sharp barbs that easily breaks off. My neighbor has this tree also and a thorn when straight through his boot and the tip broke off into his foot. Had to goto the hospital to have the barb removed from his foot. Also, the thorns has flatten the tires to his large class "A" farm tractor. Again a nasty evil tree, slow growing though.

For a nasty non thorny vine, how about poison ivy :) Enjoy Life ... Dan

I have 3 well-established Don Juan rose bushes (beautiful deep red color, ever-blooming and nice fragrance) on a 12' trellis in full sun. The thorns help keep the kids from climbing on the trellis.

Believe me, if I had one squinch of space anywhere I'd be in the same place you're in. This week, knee killing me aside, I have to go out and chop out some giant blue agave pups for some friends. I'm always amazed at how many pups these plants manufacture in one year.

I have one of those too. I'm very afraid of it, but cardinals love to nest in it. I dare any snake to climb in there. If unpruned it can and has gotten as tall as eight feet. The one I have is prone to thrips. Since I don't DO anything to kill the thrips the blooms are sometimes a bit yucky. They do have beautiful hips though!

Mine are staying in the 5-6 ft range. It can be pruned to be lower.

-al sung