In April and May they are covered in clouds of pretty bowl-shaped white flowers which, come the Autumn, will result in a heavy crop of those all important blue-black fruits. Prunus spinosa can be grown as a sloe bush if pruned at 6 -8 feet in height, or left to its own devices will reach around 16 feet (5 metres) tall. Sloe bushes make excellent impenetrable hedges due to their vicious spines on the stems (hence thorn in the name). These sloe fruits (which are often mis-described as berries) are usually added to gin (along with a sizeable amount of sugar!) or vodka, and make a great addition to homemade preserves.Ī native to the UK, these are often found growing wild in hedgerows and scrub land - but for those wanting to guarantee a supply of Sloes (or should that be homemade sloe gin?) there is no better way than planting a few. The Sloe bush, Prunus spinosa, produces small plum-like fruits known as 'drupes' in autumn. Sometimes known as Blackthorn, it is actually the fruit of the bush that is known as the sloe.

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