@Fairgirl, well all bamboos, like most plants, will bulk up and ‘spread’, so your GW expert was not wrong, but it’s how they do it and to what extent they are capable that counts 😊 It’s when people are victims of miss-selling and/or do not allow for their ultimate width/plant them too close to a fence etc. that a clumper can become ‘problematic’ - through no fault of it’s own.
Runners are always problematic even if you have a huge property and no neighbours for miles. My nearest neighbour a few kilometres away has a stand of running bamboo on his boundary with the road. It has taken over the verges and comes up through the tarmac.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I witnessed running bamboo growing in the tropics where I spent 10 years as a youngster. New canes can emerge and literally grow inches overnight! I've always regarded them with wonder and awe but a bit of caution! In the UK they are very tame by comparison but I grow them in restricted spaces because of that urge to roam. Clumping bamboos are fine in UK gardens (but not as impressive!)
Mind made up it is going! Just rang an on line company who recommended Fagesia Jiuzhaigou 1. Can anyone give me any advice, such as ultimate height. Sunny shelter spot so that should be ok and it will replace the black one. Do I need to do anything with the soil please?
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Bamboos are grasses and all grasses spread.. Online nurseries, and some reputable ones we all use, are economical with the truth... take the sub tropical looking Miscanthus sacchariflorus, which grows to about 10 feet tall.. you will see it says ''not invasive'' on every site you look at I think... this really isn't the case, try planting it near a boundary fence and it's rhizomatous roots will soon escape underneath into your neighbours, or even push up rickety paths nearby..
As Bamboo and Grass expert Roger Grounds wrote ''it's a runner''..
..and I think most people would have issues with the late Christopher Lloyd who extolled the virtues of Japanese Knotweed, whilst warning of its deep running rootstock, he then described it as ''an excellent landscape plant, suitable for motorway planting''.. ''panic is uncalled for''.. I doubt most people would agree with that..
Mine hasn't made any progress yet but they are slow growing initially and the new cane season is just about to start. I added some compost and bone meal to the surrounding area when I planted it. Strangely seaweed extract is not recommended for bamboos as it is too salty.
As your bamboo progresses, the best feed you can give it is to allow the fallen leaves to build up around the canes and degrade - the silica feeds them. I also add a couple of handfuls of blood fish and bone every spring.
In the early days they need regular watering but once established only I only water if there's been little rainfall. Enjoy your new plant!
@Marlorena Thank you for all your comments. Christopher Lloyd also loved the lesser Celandine Brazen Hussey which is treated as a weed in my garden. Plenty of it at the local GC last week but no takers.
@Plantminded That is exactly the advice I needed, I did know about leaving some of the leaves and the black bamboo has also been fed with BF and B so I was on the right track. I have rang a couple of online nurseries today. I did ask if Black Bamboo was a clumping form 'yes' was the reply from the first one I rang.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
It’s always back to right plant, right place isn’t it? In the case of JK that is nowhere!
I’ve wanted some Euphorbia griffithii for ages but was put off by it’s running capabilities as I was rightly and duly warned of it by other forum members. Adam Frost recently planted some in his mixed border and didn’t mention that. I’ve just taken the plunge and bought some but they will be planted in large pots!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@GardenerSuze ...I planted Brazen Hussey over 10 years ago, this photo from 2011, and I've been trying to get rid of it ever since. I do believe it's finally gone..
@contactsimran7Krc62nT just to say sorry we’ve all gone off on a tangent a bit, always the way when bamboo is mentioned! If you want some further suggestions for your conifer screening let us know 😊
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Posts
@Fairgirl, well all bamboos, like most plants, will bulk up and ‘spread’, so your GW expert was not wrong, but it’s how they do it and to what extent they are capable that counts 😊 It’s when people are victims of miss-selling and/or do not allow for their ultimate width/plant them too close to a fence etc. that a clumper can become ‘problematic’ - through no fault of it’s own.
As Bamboo and Grass expert Roger Grounds wrote ''it's a runner''..
..and I think most people would have issues with the late Christopher Lloyd who extolled the virtues of Japanese Knotweed, whilst warning of its deep running rootstock, he then described it as ''an excellent landscape plant, suitable for motorway planting''.. ''panic is uncalled for''..
I doubt most people would agree with that..
Mine hasn't made any progress yet but they are slow growing initially and the new cane season is just about to start. I added some compost and bone meal to the surrounding area when I planted it. Strangely seaweed extract is not recommended for bamboos as it is too salty.
As your bamboo progresses, the best feed you can give it is to allow the fallen leaves to build up around the canes and degrade - the silica feeds them. I also add a couple of handfuls of blood fish and bone every spring.
In the early days they need regular watering but once established only I only water if there's been little rainfall. Enjoy your new plant!
@Plantminded That is exactly the advice I needed, I did know about leaving some of the leaves and the black bamboo has also been fed with BF and B so I was on the right track. I have rang a couple of online nurseries today. I did ask if Black Bamboo was a clumping form 'yes' was the reply from the first one I rang.
I’ve wanted some Euphorbia griffithii for ages but was put off by it’s running capabilities as I was rightly and duly warned of it by other forum members. Adam Frost recently planted some in his mixed border and didn’t mention that. I’ve just taken the plunge and bought some but they will be planted in large pots!
...I planted Brazen Hussey over 10 years ago, this photo from 2011, and I've been trying to get rid of it ever since. I do believe it's finally gone..