Bamboo in the garden - too risky?

9 years ago

Bamboo is one of the most ferocious growers, but often seems to get out of control when you don't tame it carefully.

Clearly, bamboo can look great in the right setting.

Are there ways to keep bamboo at bay? Species that won't overtake my whole garden?

Carina House · More Info

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ASVInteriors

9 years ago

I love bamboo and have over 500 plants and 20 species. Bits of advice based on living with them for a number of years that I find

House Renovation · More Info

are important:
As the other posters state

two types of bamboo clumping and running
Both need annual maintenance removing old shoots (usually from the center to allow growth to stay put ... running bamboo tends to run when it has no more space to stay)
rhizome barriers at least 95cm in ground with 5cm peeking over as you can see a rhizome trying to "leap"out of its enclosure and cut it.
Or a cement basin or pots that have insulation in cold climates
In warmer climates and more receptive soil, bamboos grow fast and tall, less warm climates they tend to grow a little less aggressively
they make schmutz with the sheaths that protect new growth, and then leaf drop with temperature changes
Not all species look good all the time: fargesias are clumping but tend to look a little dead in the winter (where I am where it is cold) so accept that not all bamboos look good all the time.
Love them but you need to keep a careful eye on them and check for runners and pull them out immediately to "dissuade"them from growing where you don't want them.

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Comments (20)

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Helenscolour
9 years ago
I think clump bamboo is ok. It stayed contained in a previous house we had and successfully screened out neighbour's clothesline. Very quickly too. Will be interested to hear what the garden experts say.
Luke Buckle thanked Helenscolour
wuff
9 years ago
I researched and researched bamboo as a screen in my garden but in the end I decided I wouldn't take the risk. I have used advanced golden cane palms instead...have made a fabulous green screen
Luke Buckle thanked wuff
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macyjean
9 years ago
The two things I have heard are, make sure you get clumping not running bamboo (which sounded encouraging) and make sure you allow enough space because the clumps can get quite large (which sounded, um, not quite so encouraging.... I mean okay, HOW large are we talking?).
Luke Buckle thanked macyjean
PRO
Andrew Bonvegna design services
9 years ago
It's quick to grow. It's beautiful and shady but it's a maintenance nightmare.
Jackie Lauder Baker
9 years ago
We put our clumping bamboo in a railway sleeper garden bed and its the best screen ever. Yes it still grows fast and very tall but thats exactly what we wanted. No more ugly neighbours house!
Jackie Lauder Baker
9 years ago
Gracilis- Slender weevers is the variety we used :)
PRO
Project Artichoke
9 years ago
The Slender Weavers Bamboo (Bambusa textiles gracilus) is awesome. Quick growing, great screening of two storey neighbours and non running. This is always my go to bamboo when designing a garden.
lucytartan
9 years ago
I have both Gracillis and Chungii in my garden. They are clumpers but I am growing them in containers because there is concrete paving where i need the screens. Both varieties are doing extremely well, but require attentive watering during the growing season.
Luke Buckle thanked lucytartan
PRO
elsker design
9 years ago
Oh great question!

I have been thinking of Bamboo to screen out a not-so-nice neighbour but also a little scared off even the clumping variety.

Last thing I want is for it to wander into his yard...
Luke Buckle thanked elsker design
PRO
Reddog Architects
9 years ago
The bamboo in the Carina House image is "China Gold" - fast growing clumper, great screen, caused no issues with neighbours... but homeowner has said pruning back from the house at this time of year is a fortnightly thing!
Nick A
9 years ago
How many plants would be required to cover every one metre of screening width for the clumping varieties?
bigreader
9 years ago
I can live with frequent trimming.

BUT does the clumping bamboo drop a lot of leaves all year round.

I don't want to see my neighbours but I don't want to annoy them either.
PRO
ASVInteriors
9 years ago
@bigreader: It depends where you are based. A cold climate creates more leaf drop than a warmer climate. In warm weather clumping bamboo tends to keep its leaves but as the weather gets cold it starts to go a less appealing browny/green and loses quite a bit of leaf.
This is a google search on Fargesia in winter.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%3Dfargesia+in+winter&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=DtETVdv4FIT2UNPOgKgM&ved=0CB0QsAQ&biw=1920&bih=943#tbm=isch&q=fargesia+in+winter
PRO
East Coast Building Design
9 years ago
make or buy some big pots that way you can control the spread and if you decide to get rid of it, you can just dump the whole pot or sell them on gumtree. even clumping bamboo is a menace to get rid of when you decide you need a change. and if it gets under the fence, your neighbors can back charge any maintenance to you forever. I think its $300 per year without even asking you, and more with qcat orders.
Luke Buckle thanked East Coast Building Design
PRO
Candice Day
9 years ago
Bamboo is a great screening option or wall feature. We use it for clients that have a large wall to 'decorate' or a view into neighbours that needs to be obscured. Underground bamboo barriers can be installed to control spreaders and a reduction in fertilizer and water will slow them down once they reach desired size. Speak to a nursery or your landscape designer to find out the new species that have been purpose grown to reduce spreading like Gracilis, Alphonse Karr, Ghost bamboo. If planting in pots make sure its a deep wide pot with a good moisture holding potting mix. Good luck!
Tilly
9 years ago
I have a house in Perth with a enclosed courtyard and a built in flowerbed, approximately 4 meters long.
I planted Timor black bamboo.
It is in a courtyard that is 3 stories high, so it's protected from the wind and only gets morning sun. Need to be watered daily.
I have mirrors behind and it looks amazing.
lakehousejournal
8 years ago
I have successfully screened out two below average neighbours with three varieties of bamboo. Gracilis (Bambusa textiles gracilis), Lipstick bamboo (Gigantochloa lutriostriata) and Ghost bamboo (Dendrocalamus minor var amoenus). I haven't found them to be a maintenance nightmare, as suggested above. It's fast growing and doesn't drop as much litter as the other advanced paperbark trees (and other) in my garden. It's kinda like putting in grass and then complaining that it has to be mowed..... Of course there will be some work involved.

@Nick A One every half meter for a dense hedge. I'm told the further you space them apart, the lower the hedge will be. A competition and light equation.

@ASVInteriors I was trying to work out what was going on with my old leaves. I'm based in a sub-tropical area and the leaves don't seem to drop, as suggested in a lot of literature and forums. It's really annoying!
Alexander Woo
8 years ago
Depending on the size of the area you can use a variety of clumping bamboos in the landscape.

We have a relatively small backyard, think most new housing estates do these days and I wanted something relatively tall but have small culm diameters. Needles to say we went for the ever popular Slender Weavers where the max culm diameter ranges from 25mm to 35mm at heights of 6m to 8m. They grow fast too, we planted 22 of them 8 months ago with an average height of 1.5m and most of them are about 3m.

Some of the other species with bigger culms are like the Oldhamii and Buddha's Belly where they reach up 100mm in diameter.

For the most part they're planted in rows and mostly for screening purposes but I've seen growers mix and match such as planting the taller Timor Black Bamboo (12m - 16m) at the back of the Slender Weavers followed by the shorter Himalayan Weeping Bamboo and/or Fargesia Fortuna.

I'm also not opposed to the idea of incorporating running bamboo into landscapes as they have their own charm such as more delicate looking foliage and straighter stems from the ground as a result of them spreading out their rhizomes to larger areas before shooting upwards. Most common varieties is the Golden Cane Bamboo or Black Bamboo. You can usually tell if a species is a running bamboo by looking out for a flat side alternating between each node along the canes.

Hope that helps...
Alexander Woo
8 years ago
Oh and I forgot to mention the running variety requires a really good barrier to control the spread.

Bamboo in the garden - too risky?

ASVInteriors

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Helenscolour

wuff

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