Golden Hedge Clumping Bamboo (Bambusa multiplex alphonse karr)

If you're looking for a bamboo that combines function, beauty and hardiness, look no further than Golden Hedge Clumping Bamboo.

Like all multiplex bamboos, Golden Hedge has a very dense, broad growth pattern which makes it the perfect choice for an impenetrable living hedge while the yellow canes with vertical green stripes make it a good candidate for a centerpiece planting. 

Bold green stripes against a soft golden background adds to the allure of this practical and attractive Clumping Bamboo specimen

Since Golden Hedge is slightly shorter (maximum height of 30') than the 45'-tall Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo (Bambusa multiplex 'Silverstripe'), it may be preferable for a smaller yard or for planting under electric wires. If space is not a problem, however, Golden Hedge and Green Hedge look very attractive when mixed together to form a living fence.

A mixed hedge of Golden and Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo provides a fast-growing and beautiful privacy screen in a residential yard

Another one of Golden Hedge Clumping Bamboo's assets is its hardiness. It can tolerate temperatures into the mid-teens.  We have seen Golden Hedge Clumping Bamboo growing throughout the Southeast and in the temperate climate of Seattle, WA.

Hardiness is one of Golden Hedge Clumping Bamboo's many assets

Even though the multiplex family of bamboo is one of the hardiest groups of clumping bamboos, it still will not survive any part of the country that regularly gets single-digit or subzero winter temperatures.  If you live in one of those areas and wish to create a living hedge of bamboo, please consider one of our Running Bamboos.  Running Bamboos love cold weather and actually grow taller with larger diameter canes in colder climates than they do in warmer, more tropical parts of the world.

Unsightly objects? Make them disappear behind a bamboo hedge

We love when customers send us "Before and After" pictures!  The following letter and photos from a customer in Florida shows how quickly - in just one year - bamboo can screen off unsightly objects and provide a customer with privacy.

Hi Jennifer,
We bought 5-3.5gal buckets of "Graceful" from you a little over a year ago and planted them for a privacy fence. They have grown beautifully as you can see in the attached "before and after" pictures.

I use my A/C condensation to take care of their water needs. I get almost 5 gallons a day so they each clump gets about a gallon of water a day and they have good drainage. They seem to love it. I tested the PH of the water and its right about 7.

Before and after, notice the orange door and chain link fence are almost concealed. I have lots of new growth as I type this so by the end of year they should form a total privacy fence.

Thanks again!
Jim and Sonia

The customers wanted to hide a neighbor's unattractive chain link fence and orange door so they planted 5 three-gallon containers of Graceful Clumping Bamboo along the fence line

After only one year's growth, the plantings of Graceful Bamboo are already concealing the fence and orange door while creating a beautiful and graceful living wall of green.

What to do when canes overhang a neighbor's yard

A customer who planted a hedge of Graceful Clumping Bamboo along his property line several years ago recently wrote with the following question:  

Our clumping bamboo is growing really well, but starting to hang into our neighbors yard,  should I cut the offending canes in the middle or at the ground level to prevent this in the future?

My response:
You can cut the overhanging canes anywhere but I usually like to cut them off at the base for aesthetic reasons.  However, trimming existing canes won't stop new shoots which come up around the base to grow tall and eventually do the same thing - overhanging the neighbor's yard.  The only way to prevent that is to knock over the new shoots coming up on your neighbor's side so they won't grow tall.  When bamboo gets to the stage your has, it needs maintenance once a year.  Remember that the growing season continues through November so new canes will keep coming up.  We suggest doing a pruning once in the late winter before the growing season begins and then knocking over unwanted new shoots as they appear during the spring-summer-fall.

Bamboo leafs out from top to bottom

Gerry, a customer from Islamorada, FL wrote to say:
The hedge bamboo we bought from you is doing great.  There are lots of new shoots coming out of the ground and it's getting tall with a lot of full growth on the upper third of the stem. Is it OK to "top off" the tallest ones in order to encourage new leaves near the bottom, or should we wait for it to fill in on its own?

My response:
I would suggest waiting a little while longer, Gerry.  New bamboo shoot grow tall quickly then take their time leafing out beginning at the top and working their way down to the bottom.  Keep in mind that the above-ground growing season continues until November so you can expect many, many more new shoots to emerge before then.  Your clumps will be full and leafy by the end of the year.  At that point, if there are any canes that are bare at the bottom but leafy at the top, you can top them to encourage new lower leaf growth.  Keep in mind though that once a bamboo cane is topped, that cane will never grow any taller. 

New shoots begin to leaf out from the top and work their way down toward the bottom, a process that takes several months to complete.

What kind of running bamboo will grow in NY?

Running bamboos like cold climates.  They will grow taller and have larger diameter canes if grown in cold climates instead of warm ones.  Although this stand of Vivax running bamboo is covered in icicles during the winter of 2009, it wasn't damaged at all. 

A visitor to our website from NY wrote to ask:

Hi. Do you have bamboos that will withstand NY winters? How many plants do you recommend to start? Thank you.

My response:
All of our running bamboos will grow in your area.  Look at the pictures and descriptions on our running bamboo page to find the ones you like best.  It is not a problem to plant several types together and let them run into each other.

How many you begin with depends on how quickly you want to form a hedge. We began most of our long hedgerows of running bamboo with one plant but we were willing to wait several years for them to expand sufficiently to form a hedge.  

This double hedge of our Green Hedge Running bamboo (Semiarundinaria fastuosa viridis) was initially established on only one side of the path.  We started with 3-gal size plants spaced 10 feet apart.  It took several years, but eventually the space between the plants filled in and not too long after, shoots began traveling across the path.  Today we have a lovely hedge on both sides of a path that we keep clear by mowing.

Running bamboos are easy to divide once the initial plant starts sending out shoots.  Once the shoots have grown up and leafed out they can be dug up and relocated into the hedge line.  I'd suggest starting with 4-6 plants spaced 5' apart to form a hedge a bit quicker. 

These connected young shoots of Red Running Bamboo (Semiarudinaria fastuosa) are ready to be divided and transplanted.

We ship 3-gal plants, 2 plants per 48" x 12" x 12" box.  In order to provide you with an accurate quote, we need to how many plants and which varieties you wish to order, your address w/zip code, phone # and whether the parcel will be delivered to a home or business location (it is slightly less expensive to ship to commercial locations).  Once we have that information we can send you a quote including shipping.  If you decide to go ahead with the order we accept payment by credit card. When the bamboo is shipped we email you a tracking number. 

Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo - A fast, effective barrier plant

This one-month-old Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo only had one cane when it was first planted from a 3-gal container.  One month later and a new shoot has already emerged with many more shoots to follow over the next few months.  See photo below.

This line of one-year-old Green Hedge Clumping Bamboos looked like the top picture when it was first planted.  Each bamboo only had a single cane in each 3-gal container.  The bamboos are planted 4' apart.  After only one growing season, many new shoots emerged to form an 8'-10' tall solid wall of green. 

 

 

 

 

Here's an example of how effectively Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo can provide a sight and sound barrier.  The above photo shows a one-year-old line of Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo started from 7-gal plants. Prior to planting, the house below was completely exposed to the noise and traffic on SR 19 in Groveland.  One year after planting, the house is no longer visible and you can hardly hear the sound of cars and trucks speeding by 

GOLDEN GODDESS BAMBOO Bambusa multiplex golden goddess

This delicate-leafed hedge bamboo is a great choice for a smaller lot.  It also works well as a container plant for patios or poolside planting.  Golden Goddess can tolerate winter temperatures that dip for short periods of time into the high teens, making it a good choice for people living in Zone 8 - 10.

If planted 4' to 6' apart in rich soil that's watered and fertilized regularly, this semi-dwarf (6' to 12' tall) bamboo with 1/4" to 1/2" canes will form a solid wall of green by the end of its first growing season.

Our daughter Jenny stands in front of a 4-year-old clump of Golden Goddess that shows off the bamboo's distinctively round, fluffy shape.  

Even though Golden Goddess tends to grow in what I call a "snowball" shape, it is easily pruned to take the form of whatever shape works best in the landscape.  The line of Golden Goddess below demonstrates how nicely Golden Goddess can be pruned to create a short squared off hedge.

We offer Golden Goddess in 3-gal, 7-gal and 15-gal size containers.  Even in 3-gal containers, Bambusa multiplex golden goddess is already quite tall and has multiple canes as Ralph demonstrates in the photo below:

A closeup shot shows the size of this bamboo's canes.  Golden Goddess culms are small but plentiful.  They rarely get larger than 1/2" diameter.

 

Bambusa multiplex Silverstripe - Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo

If you are looking for a bamboo that will provide a dense screen, buffer wind, block sound and tolerate winter temperatures that dip into the high teens, Bambusa multiplex Silverstripe is the bamboo for you.  This extremely functional bamboo is also one of the least expensive bamboos we stock, which makes it ideal for long fence lines or perimeter plantings.  

The clump of multiplex that our daughter Jenny is kneeling next to was planted in 2002 from a 3-gal size plant with only one single cane.  Over the years as the root system developed, new shoots appeared around that first cane to form what soon became a leafy, thick cold-hardy clump of sound-, sight- and wind-buffering bamboo.  Looking at how it looks now, it's hard to believe that large clump started with just one single cane.  But it did!

Multiplex has been a landscape fixture for decades in many southeastern states.  It is often found surrounding the perimeter of old homesteads, especially here in Florida.  When we first moved to our property, we planted extensive stands of Green Hedge.  Those that were planted in rich, peaty soil grew huge while the ones we planted at the same time in sandy, nutrient-poor soil grew about a third as tall as their rich-soil counterparts.  The smaller plants are still healthy, they just grew slower due to the less rich soil. 

Below are four pictures of multiplex that show how quickly a 3-gal size plant with just one cane can grow into a large verdant clump.

The one-month-old multiplex above started out with just one cane - the smaller one to the left. The cane on the right appeared shortly after it was planted.  Below are two more pictures of the same plant after it has been in the ground for one year:

Notice that some of the new shoots are yellow with green stripes.  As the culms mature, they lose the yellow color and turn green.  However, sometimes a bit of striping remains lower down on the culm.  The young leaves are often striped as well, as can be seen in the forefront of the picture below.  That's what gives this particular strain of Bambusa multiplex the name "Silverstripe."

The same one-year-old bamboo seen from afar, below:

Below are two pictures of mature fence line plantings of Bambusa multiplex Silverstripe bamboos.  Both plantings started with lines of 3-gal size plants spaced 10' apart.  The bottom photo was taken when the stand was about 5 years old.  The top photo with our son Toby standing next to the bamboo, was taken when the bamboo and Toby were both about 9 years old.  They say kids grow up fast but bamboo grows up faster!

 

A Kissimmee resident takes the first step in creating a living hedge

Jason, a customer from Kissimmee, wants to block the view of a two-story house from the home he's renovating in downtown Kissimmee.  He planted his first bamboo yesterday, a 3-gal Seabreeze, with the intention of adding more bamboos to the landscape as the weeks go by.  Below is a photo he sent with his comments:

"hey guys, thank you for all your help yesterday! im excited about my new seabreeze and cant wait to see it take off. here is a pic right after i planted it. thanks again!" 

If, like Jason, you're intention is to create a living hedge but time and budget restraints won't permit you to install all the bamboos at once, you can still plant individual plants without worrying that the hedge will look uneven.  Bamboo planted at different times will catch up to each other.  After three years in the ground, all clumping bamboos will have grown to close to their mature height.  New larger diameter canes will keep emerging each summer but after the third year, those new canes will only be a few inches taller than the previous year's growth. 

Hello Doli! - Before and After photos of Bambusa dolichomerithalla "Silverstripe"

These "Before and After" photos just arrived in my inbox from Orlando-area customer, Andy Roy.  

Hi, Sherry,

I thought I'd share a couple of pics on the 1-year anniversary of our first bamboo planting.  I put these 3 gallon bambusa dolichomerithalla "Silverstripe" in the ground last May.  They put up shoots through November, but didn't manage to fill out with leaves until the last month or so.  Amazing transformation!  If they were just a touch taller, we'd already have all the shade we are looking for.  By next year, it will be mission accomplished for sure. So far, no new shoots this spring. 

Below: May 2009 from the deck

Below: May 2010 from the deck

 

Above: May 2009 from the yard

Below: May 2010 from the yard 

The bamboo Andy planted, Bambusa dolichomerithalla "Silverstripe", is a clumping variety that we have since phased out of production.  Although it forms a lovely stand and is cold hardy, this particular bamboo looks very similar to several of our other cold-hardy clumpers.  In our effort to make the selection process simpler for customers, we chose to discontinue propagating this particular cultivar.  We still have a limited number of 7-gal and 15-gal "Doli's" available at half their regular price.  If you are interested, call or email for more information.  Sherry@beautifulbamboo.com

 

Amazing 'Before and After' photos

I just received this email from customers in the Orlando area who bought Seabreeze and Graceful clumping bamboos from us in 2008 to shield their backyard from a neighbor's home that was being built right along their fence line.

Sherry,

We are happy with how much our bamboo has grown these past 2 years.  It gives us the privacy, beauty and serenity we were looking for.

Attached is a recent photo and another photo from planting 2 years ago along with a photo prior to planting.  Such an improvement!  Sorry it took so long to send - 3 kids will keep you busy.

We are really enjoying the pool and our view. It is really relaxing and we now spend lots of time outside.  

Hope all is well.  Happy Mother's Day! 

Lisa and Wes

Above:  Before planting - a new house is being built next door

Below:  Right after planting - the new house is looming larger but the bamboo is in the ground right along the fence line.

Below:  Two Years Later - you can't even tell that the neighbor's house is there.  The bamboo hedge completely hides the neighboring building while adding beauty and a tropical feel to the backyard.

Some bamboo questions

A visitor to Beautiful Bamboo's Facebook page asked:

I have some bamboo questions. I live in New Jersey. I would like to purchase some bamboo plants to hide my fence. I would like it to be tall about 8 to 10ft. I need to know the best place to purchase and the going prices. They seem expensive $25 a plant. If I purchase the small plants how long will it take for them to grow to my 8 to 10ft height?

My response - Our nursery ships bamboo across the country but in NJ you are limited to running bamboos since all clumping varieties except Fargesia (a clumping bamboo that we can't grow in Florida because it requires a mountainous climate) are tropical plants and cannot tolerate temperatures below 15 degrees.

However, any of the running varieties will work fine in your area.  But keep in mind that runners are invasive and you have to be able to control their growth by either mowing a 20' to 30' swath around them or putting into place a bamboo barrier.  To learn more, read Clumpers or Runners - Which is best for you?

Concerning the cost, keep in mind that you don't need many plants to form a hedge.  It's far less expensive and better for the environment to create a living hedge than to build a wall or install a fence.  Bamboo will also grow taller and thicker than any fence or wall. 

About height, all bamboos grow very quickly from bottom to top.  As long as you give your plants rich soil, water and fertilizer, they will grow from nothing to their full height within a couple months.  You can expect an 8'-10' hedge within one season even from small 1-gal to 3-gal container plants.

To learn more, please take some time to read the information on our website and blog.  Bamboo is different from other plants in so many ways.  It helps to educate yourself as much as possible before planting.

Seabreeze Bamboo - Before and After Pictures

A customer from San Antonio, FL needed to block the view of the road from his house so he planted a line of several Seabreeze bamboos alongside the road. Below are photos to show how quickly clumping bamboos can change a landscape and accomplish the goal of providing privacy with beauty.

Before bamboo was planted

The same view the summer after planting several Seabreeze bamboos in front of the house to block the view from the road

One year later, mission accomplished. The house is hidden behind a lush hedge of Seabreeze bamboo.