Hello! I am new to the forum. I am looking to create a privacy hedge on my property and would love to use shrubs with edible fruit. I live in the mountains of Wyoming at about a zone 3, although recently our zone was upgraded to 4 for trees.

The priorities for this hedge are to use a fast growing shrub, that will grow between 7 and 10 feet tall to give us privacy from a road and bike path that runs along our backyard. We have a plenty of space for this hedge but don't want it to get taller than 10 feet so we can still have a view of the mountains.

I am a little confused about which varieties to plant. At first I was considering a mix of Adams and Johns, but then thought they might get a little too big, even though we are willing to prune a bit, I would rather have shrubs that naturally stay to about 8 to 10 feet. Then I read that York could be a good choice. Usually it is recommended with Nova, but I have read that Nova stays smaller, growing to only 6 feet. Would Adams' pollinate York or are their bloom times too different?

I talked to a local nursery and they tried to disway me from elderberries altogether and thought that using Evans cherry trees or serviceberry shrubs might be a better choice. I looked into the suggestion but keep coming back to elderberries after much research. I think I would be more inclined to use elderberries than serviceberries, and Evans cherry trees would take too long to create a decent screen for us and it is cost prohibitive for us to buy larger trees to start out.

Any thoughts on the best varieties to use for our hedge? Any other ideas instead of Elderberries? Are there drawbacks to using elderberries? The area will have access to drip irrigation.

Thanks for your help?