I have bamboo Fargesia Nitada. It is evergreen (though more sparsely foliated in winter waiting for fresh new leaves to pop through). In a pot, you can keep it fairly small, though it needs plenty of water and an annual feed. In the ground, it forms a clump about 2m high and a little less wide. It's OK in pretty dense shade, but does not like afternoon sun. A lovely plant, IMV. 🙂
Thank you @ViewAhead, yes it would be in a shady to semi shady area. If I plant something like this. I will definitely do so in a submerged tub, to keep growth restricted. Do you have it as a feature plant or in a group of some kind? 6foot in height would probably be the max I need along the path.
No need for a submerged tub. It doesn't have any runners, just forms a clump. It is completely non-invasive, in my experience. That said, if you have it in a container, you might find it easier to keep it reliably moist ... and it will stay smaller in height. I currently have two in containers, one either side of a kerria japonica and with epimediums in front. Both are divisions from a larger one that was struggling with too much sun and soil drying out in summer.
I know what you mean @Rubytoo. Most deciduous grasses get cut down to ground level in February or March and soon regain their height with fresh flower stalks. My hedge of Calamagrostis Karl Foerster gives a good screen of 1.5 m for most of the year.
Thanks for your help and lovely inspiring photos too @plantminded! The Panicum Northwind looks like it forms a distinct shape that could work very well for me. I have never grown any Panicum before. Those two Calamagrostis Karl Foerster plants behind really show up well against some of your other planting. I love your Calamagrostis Karl Foerster hedge, it is so wispy and soft in the sun.
Is the Miscanthus Malepartus sort of bulkier than the Miscanthus Zebrinus behind? They catch the light (and the air!) so well, don't they? Might have a look at Zebrinus as a possible...
Your Cortaderia pumila is stunning - I do love that fountain effect. I have a triangular section elsewhere where that could suit and would look just right.
Thank you for your mention of Nandina domestica - I will have a look at what is available.
Your garden has that gorgeous tactile feel that I am aiming for!
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You are very welcome @clematisdorset, I’m pleased that you found the photos helpful. I think grasses add qualities to a garden that many other plants don’t, particularly over winter when they capture any sunlight and bounce it back into the garden, like rays of hope as winter moves on. Very uplifting on those short, dark days!
Yes, Miscanthus malepartus has a bulkier shape and texture than M. Zebrinus which is taller and more airy. I like them both, together. You may already have done this, but have a look at the Knoll Gardens website, particularly the photos in the gallery section. Neil Lucas is a renowned grass expert and his latest book “Grasses for Gardens and Landscapes” is worth buying if you want further inspiration.
You also asked about bamboos. Think carefully about where you want them to grow as even the clumping varieties do spread outwards, like most grasses, but without sending out runners that make the non-clumping varieties notoriously unpopular. I actually grow several of the latter, they are fine where I grow them and just need to be carefully managed and maintained. The shallow, sandy soil here seems to control their vigour and keep their invasive ambitions somewhat reduced! Please feel free to ask for any other information to help with your decisions. Enjoy your planning!
Yes, very helpful @plantminded and very easy to see from your landscaping and the photographic quality! I do like the movement and swishiness that comes from these sorts of plants and agree about how they enhance the winter months. I might have room for Miscanthus Zebrinus too then, yippee! I am glad you mentioned Knoll Gardens - I will take a look there too. I have sandy soil too, so that is a good thought about it's effect on bamboo and it's rooting instincts. I will certainly be looking to contain the bamboo so that it acts only as a taller backdrop along the path, with the grasses in front. It will probably take me at least another year to get right, but I hope to start some planting this spring. I might be back for more info! ☺️
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
Our soil is sandy as well, so it's perhaps why our fargesia isn't thuggish in anyway. We have had it for maybe 15 years and it came as the smallest, weediest, plant you could imagine, so took a while to get going. I would say that it needs space and if you are limited then perhaps it's not the best plant for your situation. They really need room to allow for a gentle splay of their culms and this is reduced every year by their outward spread. You either need to divide them when they get big or give them enough space that it doesn't matter. They don't go bald in the middle like grasses but you also can't just remove the outside growth because this is the new growth and it is detrimental to the plants health if to much of this is removed. If you are careful how you prune, you can reduce the top growth without it being noticeable. We have maintained each clump, dotted around the garden, at different height from 4-6ft (6ft is about as tall as it wants to be here) but it can grow a fair bit taller.
I have dug up and moved ours quite a few times and they readily transplant and recover from heavy devision.
I grow three types of Fargesia and would say the same as @thevictorian, they are much slower growing than the non-clumping varieties, have a lax, fountain like shape and prefer a shady spot. They seem to take off after about three years, but still quite slowly. I prefer the upright habit of Phyllostachys varieties which can be easily thinned out to as few canes as you like, without damaging the rootstock. (I have also thinned one of my Fargesias in the same way, without any harm).
I avoid taking any height off the canes of any of my bamboos as I think they lose their airiness. I do trim the stalks and leaves off the bottom thirds of the canes though to reveal the colours of the canes and let light in for other plants to grow below.
Here's two varieties of Phyllostachys, the first is a young plant with canes not yet thinned out and the other a mature plant with canes reduced in number to about a third of the new ones which appeared in spring last year. Plus a close up of the mature canes later in the year.
Love that Phyllostachys! ❤️ Would it be happy in a pot, do you think?
Thank you @ViewAhead. It would have to be quite a large pot as the leaves demand quite a lot of water in the heat of summer, especially if it’s windy too. A young plant should be OK for a couple of years and then I would either plant it in the ground or divide it and repot the divisions. A wide pot will allow the plant to produce more canes from the expanding root system and depth will help to retain moisture and stop the pot from blowing over🙃!
Splendid! 👍 I find the fargesias like width over depth in their pots too. I guess as they are not naturally deep rooters, they prefer the spreading potential.
It's not too windy in my back garden, unlike the front, and I am a diligent waterer, probably erring on over rather than under.
Good luck @ViewAhead. My favourite variety is Phyllostachys aureosulcata f. spectabilis. The canes are golden with a reddish tinge and a distinct green vertical groove, as in my close up photo 😎.
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Is the Miscanthus Malepartus sort of bulkier than the Miscanthus Zebrinus behind? They catch the light (and the air!) so well, don't they? Might have a look at Zebrinus as a possible...
Your Cortaderia pumila is stunning - I do love that fountain effect. I have a triangular section elsewhere where that could suit and would look just right.
Thank you for your mention of Nandina domestica - I will have a look at what is available.
Your garden has that gorgeous tactile feel that I am aiming for!
You also asked about bamboos. Think carefully about where you want them to grow as even the clumping varieties do spread outwards, like most grasses, but without sending out runners that make the non-clumping varieties notoriously unpopular. I actually grow several of the latter, they are fine where I grow them and just need to be carefully managed and maintained. The shallow, sandy soil here seems to control their vigour and keep their invasive ambitions somewhat reduced! Please feel free to ask for any other information to help with your decisions. Enjoy your planning!
I might have room for Miscanthus Zebrinus too then, yippee!
I am glad you mentioned Knoll Gardens - I will take a look there too. I have sandy soil too, so that is a good thought about it's effect on bamboo and it's rooting instincts. I will certainly be looking to contain the bamboo so that it acts only as a taller backdrop along the path, with the grasses in front. It will probably take me at least another year to get right, but I hope to start some planting this spring.
I might be back for more info! ☺️
I have dug up and moved ours quite a few times and they readily transplant and recover from heavy devision.
I avoid taking any height off the canes of any of my bamboos as I think they lose their airiness. I do trim the stalks and leaves off the bottom thirds of the canes though to reveal the colours of the canes and let light in for other plants to grow below.
Here's two varieties of Phyllostachys, the first is a young plant with canes not yet thinned out and the other a mature plant with canes reduced in number to about a third of the new ones which appeared in spring last year. Plus a close up of the mature canes later in the year.
Love that Phyllostachys! ❤️ Would it be happy in a pot, do you think?