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Bamboo for screening

karen6rdkaren6rd Posts: 8
in Plants
Hi, I am considering planting bamboo to act as a screen (approx 4m) in height. 

I would rather go for a clumping form however i am a bit lost which one to choose from given there are many varieties. 

1) Does clumping form need a barrier?
I am considering planting in a container / trough as i'm worried about it spreading. 

I would like to pick an upright one thus avoiding a bushy one. 

How much space in terms of depth should i leave in terms of planting bamboo?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Posts

  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    My first thought was don't do it.
    If you really, really want to, for a bamboo that size you'd need a depth of about of metre- big plants have big roots in my experience but I'm happy to be corrected. If it's in a container then it will always need an awful lot of watering. Have you got the time and inclination?
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Fargesia is sold as a clumping type but they don't grow very upright as it's other name is fountain bamboo, mine is 3 years old and only a few stems are upright, the rest are very bushy.
    Can you give us more idea of what you want to screen and a photo 
  • BijdezeeBijdezee Posts: 1,484
    edited June 2020
    My fargesia rufus said on the ticket that it is supposed to grow to a max of 3 meters. It hasn't. I couldn't understand why mine was still so short so I started googling. I found a site by an enthusiast (they're usually better than standard plant or gardening sites) and apparently I have sited it incorrectly. Too much sun. They also need A Lot of water. 
    So I'm doing this and will see if I get any taller canes.

    This man's you tube talks about bamboo might help you choose the right one. 

    https://youtu.be/uHZhxOJ1so0
  • KiliKili Posts: 1,104
    I have a clumping type known as Golden Bamboo ( Phyllostachys) and that has grown to approx 7 feet. I put it in for privacy from a neighbour who thought it was okay to put in decking raising his garden in effect by over 3 feet, now the six feet boundary wall on his side is only 3 feet so his barbecue buddies are then bearing down on us in our garden.
    The bamboo put a stop to that and gave us back our privacy.

    Its just the b**dy noise that's hard to do anything about during the day. Why people think its okay to throw parties in the middle of a quite residential estate in a tiny garden I don't know. Inconsiderate ba***ds.

    Sorry rant over.

    Golden Bamboo ( Phyllostachys) I got from B&Q about 5 years or more ago. Maybe they still do it.

    Kili

    'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.

    George Bernard Shaw'

  • UsFourUsFour Posts: 49
    @Kili feel for you ... inconsiderate neighbours can destroy your whole life. Perhaps they'll move ?  xx
    UsFour 

    The older you get, the more you realise that it is OK to live a life others don't understand.
  • karen6rdkaren6rd Posts: 8
    Thanks Bijdezee for sharing that video, some useful insight. 

    Kili - i feel for you. Its annoying that we have to think about making our gardens private as a result of the actions of others. Did you put a barrier in for the bamboo? Was it planted direct into ground or a container?

  • KiliKili Posts: 1,104
    karen6rd said:
    Thanks Bijdezee for sharing that video, some useful insight. 

    Kili - i feel for you. Its annoying that we have to think about making our gardens private as a result of the actions of others. Did you put a barrier in for the bamboo? Was it planted direct into ground or a container?

    Fortunately I already had a barrier of sorts. A block wall behind and a low block wall bed at the front. Even with that I don't see this type spreading much at all if it were not constrained. If it does spread sideways I just chop the runners off with a spade but that's only needed at all in the growing season. Its not ruuning rampant like some as its a clumping type.

    Kili

    'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.

    George Bernard Shaw'

  • BijdezeeBijdezee Posts: 1,484
    @Treeface. My point about the video was him naming the type to avoid as they run like crazy. 
  • WishywashyWishywashy Posts: 12
    edited July 2020
    All right here's my take on bamboo then,

    I hope it does not offend, either side but it can be a nightmare plant either way round who's side of fence it's on or near, or which variety.

    Yes please chose the stump/clump forming one if you can.
    also please be considerate of how close to a fence you plant it, either variety.

    As the last 10 years i've lived with a neighbours spreading variety of bamboo continually coming up on my side.

    It has rhizomes growing horizontally underground, and they don't stop.
    I have tried a few killers but I don't have the main stem on my ground so cannot do much. They obviously love it but I hate it, they are a sun lover type, I am not.

    So I would always advise only chose the clump type it will still create a nightmare clump and massive cutting back problems for just yourself though. I would think of other types of plants as alternatives, requiring less maintenance perhaps.
    In his video above in the thread he seems to confirm my thoughts that none are well behaved, they just get so big whichever type. There's hardly anything that kills them or anything that stops them growing madly.

    I'd say even big containers won't be big enough, it will blow over as they top will end up massive. Not advisable for containers i'd say.
    Claire Wishywashy
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