That is what is so crazy about the price, it seems that most Bamboos grow prolifically, so why so expensive? You could pop a root or two in the post Obelixx if you want shot of them... only joking.
They are all looking very dry and beige whereas some even taller ones we saw today are looking very green. No idea whether ours are dead or deciduous or will green up again when spring gets under way. OH is clearing his way thru from left to right.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Yes, they are but maybe those stems are all dead from drought as there was no rain at all from late July thru September and just one or two showers in October and November.
There are new shoots at the base. With any luck, they'll die too.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
NO. They had a very wet spring and then a very dry summer and autumn. We arrived on 1st October and have seen no appreciable rainfall. We've been measuring it since mid January and there have been 56mm - just over 2" - since then. Dry as parts of Essex then!
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
The bamboo is on the edge of a higher level in our garden which is mostly gravelled and will, once cleared, be planted up like Beth Chatto's. We have been buying carfuls of multi-purpoe compost when it's been on offer at half price and forking it onto beds we've cleared there already.
The bamboos appear to have been planted as a screen to hide the paddock beyond. We don't mind seeing the horses which will be in there later on so it's OK if it dies off.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Yes, you certainly to have quite a large job there Obelixx, but I can imagine you are relishing the outcome, the putting together of such a scheme. Just how high are your summer temperatures, I would imagine around 30, but with S/W winds to keep the air a little cooler. Are you close to the coast?
Having been to the GC today (different one this time), there was a choice of 5 or 6 varieties of Bamboo including black, which we decided would be too tall.,Those within our price bracket were Fargesia Murieliae and Fargesia Simba. Our area is mostly shady, but well drained heavy soil. We are pondering but not are not at the stage of purchasing just yet.
Yes, you certainly to have quite a large job there Obelixx, but I can imagine you are relishing the outcome, the putting together of such a scheme. Just how high are your summer temperatures, I would imagine around 30, but with S/W winds to keep the air a little cooler. Are you close to the coast?
Having been to the GC today (different one this time), there was a choice of 5 or 6 varieties of Bamboo including black, which we decided would be too tall.,Those within our price bracket were Fargesia Murieliae and Fargesia Simba. Our area is mostly shady, but well drained heavy soil. We are pondering but not are not at the stage of purchasing just yet.
Hi, GD. I bought a small Fargesia 'Rufa' from B&Q in 2012 for about £8. It's very well 'behaved'. It's footprint hasn't increased very much but the canopy is about 1.5m. I have read that they can grow to 3m tall when mature.
However, mine seems to be slow-growing if that's true. In the five years I've had it the spread was quite quick but it hasn't gained a lot of height, as you can see from the photo's below. it has a somewhat arching aspect, which for me is good because it's grown to cover the fence. It reached fence height in the first couple of years.
Apparently, Fargesia species are happy in shady conditions and need protection from afternoon sun and mine is East-facing and shaded on one side by my cherry laurel. So the growth has not been affected by its position.
I really like it, particularly the red of the culms as they grow. The first photo' is when I first planted it, the rest are all last summer.
GD - Summer temps should be mid 30s but not humid so very bearable.
I've found a photo of the offending articles from last summer when they were green. The RHS thinks they may be a form of miscanthus so lucky OH gets to chop down every stem. That'll keep him busy and me in bean poles for a while.
I shall then keep an eye on subsequent growth to keep it less dense.
The dwarf conifers in this photo all died in the drought so last month we tied ropes round and towed them out with the car. Happy to lose those but I shall plant some more attractive conifers when we get new beds dug.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Soulboy, thanks for sharing the "life story" of your Fargesia rufa with me. That plant has really bushed out, and as you say hidden the railings. That is just what we need, nothing too tall, but able to hide an ugly water pipe, which is in shade for most of the day.
As it happens we went to B&Q this afternoon, but unfortunately there were no bamboos for sale. In fact (our store is quite small), there wasn't a lot of choice, apart from spring flowering bulbs in containers, some at half price or less. However I did manage to find a few pretty low growing plants. However I do visit the garden centre at B&Q quite regularly so I will keep an eye open for this lovely bamboo.
Obelixx with temperatures in the 30's I would imagine you spend a lot of your time watering the new plants until they have established their roots deep enough. Do you have a bore hole or electronic watering system or just leave the plants to fend for themselves?
Posts
That is what is so crazy about the price, it seems that most Bamboos grow prolifically, so why so expensive? You could pop a root or two in the post Obelixx if you want shot of them... only joking.
They are all looking very dry and beige whereas some even taller ones we saw today are looking very green. No idea whether ours are dead or deciduous or will green up again when spring gets under way. OH is clearing his way thru from left to right.
Yes, they are but maybe those stems are all dead from drought as there was no rain at all from late July thru September and just one or two showers in October and November.
There are new shoots at the base. With any luck, they'll die too.
NO. They had a very wet spring and then a very dry summer and autumn. We arrived on 1st October and have seen no appreciable rainfall. We've been measuring it since mid January and there have been 56mm - just over 2" - since then. Dry as parts of Essex then!
The bamboo is on the edge of a higher level in our garden which is mostly gravelled and will, once cleared, be planted up like Beth Chatto's. We have been buying carfuls of multi-purpoe compost when it's been on offer at half price and forking it onto beds we've cleared there already.
The bamboos appear to have been planted as a screen to hide the paddock beyond. We don't mind seeing the horses which will be in there later on so it's OK if it dies off.
Yes, you certainly to have quite a large job there Obelixx, but I can imagine you are relishing the outcome, the putting together of such a scheme. Just how high are your summer temperatures, I would imagine around 30, but with S/W winds to keep the air a little cooler. Are you close to the coast?
Having been to the GC today (different one this time), there was a choice of 5 or 6 varieties of Bamboo including black, which we decided would be too tall.,Those within our price bracket were Fargesia Murieliae and Fargesia Simba. Our area is mostly shady, but well drained heavy soil. We are pondering but not are not at the stage of purchasing just yet.
Hi, GD. I bought a small Fargesia 'Rufa' from B&Q in 2012 for about £8. It's very well 'behaved'. It's footprint hasn't increased very much but the canopy is about 1.5m. I have read that they can grow to 3m tall when mature.
However, mine seems to be slow-growing if that's true. In the five years I've had it the spread was quite quick but it hasn't gained a lot of height, as you can see from the photo's below. it has a somewhat arching aspect, which for me is good because it's grown to cover the fence. It reached fence height in the first couple of years.
Apparently, Fargesia species are happy in shady conditions and need protection from afternoon sun and mine is East-facing and shaded on one side by my cherry laurel. So the growth has not been affected by its position.
I really like it, particularly the red of the culms as they grow. The first photo' is when I first planted it, the rest are all last summer.
GD - Summer temps should be mid 30s but not humid so very bearable.
I've found a photo of the offending articles from last summer when they were green. The RHS thinks they may be a form of miscanthus so lucky OH gets to chop down every stem. That'll keep him busy and me in bean poles for a while.
I shall then keep an eye on subsequent growth to keep it less dense.
The dwarf conifers in this photo all died in the drought so last month we tied ropes round and towed them out with the car. Happy to lose those but I shall plant some more attractive conifers when we get new beds dug.
Soulboy, thanks for sharing the "life story" of your Fargesia rufa with me. That plant has really bushed out, and as you say hidden the railings. That is just what we need, nothing too tall, but able to hide an ugly water pipe, which is in shade for most of the day.
As it happens we went to B&Q this afternoon, but unfortunately there were no bamboos for sale. In fact (our store is quite small), there wasn't a lot of choice, apart from spring flowering bulbs in containers, some at half price or less. However I did manage to find a few pretty low growing plants. However I do visit the garden centre at B&Q quite regularly so I will keep an eye open for this lovely bamboo.
Obelixx with temperatures in the 30's I would imagine you spend a lot of your time watering the new plants until they have established their roots deep enough. Do you have a bore hole or electronic watering system or just leave the plants to fend for themselves?