Plants With Thorns in Zone 9

Edible Fruit

• Some plants with thorns for USDA zone 9 produce edible fruit and small, white flowers. Blackberries (Rubus spp.) grow in USDA zones 7 through 9, but different varieties require a varying number of chilling hours – below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, with some requiring as little as 200 to 300 hours. Blackberries prefer, but don’t require, sandy soil and a trellis. The lemon tree (Citrus limon) is an evergreen for USDA zones 9 through 11. Once the blossoms produce fruit, the lemons may take up to one year to ripen.

Colorful Leaves

• Aralia “Variegatus” (Eleutherococcus sieboldianus “Variegatus”) and bear’s breeches (Acanthus spinosus) bring colorful leaves to your landscape. “Variegatus” has bright green foliage featuring distinctive white margins with a thorn below each stem. Able to grow in full shade, this shrub tolerates drought and dry soil. What appear to be showy flowers on bear’s breeches, are actually specialized mauve-pink leaves, called bracts, surrounding a tiny flower. Its green leaves are deeply cut and prickly, similar to thorns. Bear’s breeches may spread aggressively. Both plants grow in USDA zones 4 through 9.

Urban or Roadside Plantings

• Plants appropriate for urban or roadside plantings tolerate air pollution. Crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii) can grow in poor, rocky soil, and deer or rabbits won’t eat this succulent evergreen. It produces thick, sharp thorns up to 1/2 inch long and displays tiny yellow flowers surrounded by bracts in red or yellow. Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.) can grow as a vine, a sprawling ground cover or a shrub, depending on how you train it. Lengthy narrow thorns grow at its leaf stems, and it begets tiny, creamy-white flowers encircled by brightly colored bracts in purple, red, pink or yellow. Both plants grow in USDA zones 9 through 11.

Attractive to Wildlife

• Certain plants with thorns beckon wildlife to your yard. The blossoms on Cherokee rose (Rosa laevigata) attract butterflies in USDA zones 7 through 9. This shrub displays hooked thorns and performs best with good air circulation. The abundant, brilliant orange, pea-size fruit on firethorn “Gnome” (Pyracantha angustifolia “Gnome”) attracts birds and clings to its branches into winter. This plant grows in USDA zones 5 through 9 and is evergreen in USDA zone 9, but not in colder climates. Both shrubs put out fragrant, white blossoms and are on the invasive species list in some places.