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.

Creating a beautiful bamboo hedge

Two lovely hedges of clumping bamboos

Some of the best bamboos for creating dense living walls of green are in the Bambusa multiplex family of clumping bamboos.  Bambusa multiplex alphonse karr (Golden Hedge), Bambusa multiplex golden goddess (Golden Goddess) and Bambusa multiplex silverstripe (Green Hedge) are all very hardy, broad growing bamboos that make wonderful hedges.  If you wish to create a privacy barrier, buffer sound or block the view to something objectionable, these three bamboos will quickly accomplish your goals. 

Of the three, Green Hedge will get the tallest (35'), Golden Hedge (25') and Golden Goddess tops out between 12' and 15'.  Golden Hedge has golden-yellow canes with green stripes while both Green Hedge and Golden Goddess have green canes. 

Attractive new shoots of Golden Hedge Clumping Bamboo

For variety and attractiveness, we like to mix up the different Multiplex bamboos when creating hedges.  For instance, Golden and Green Hedge look lovely together since both grow to similar heights and have identical shapes.

Green Hedge and Golden Hedge bamboos blend together nicely

The end three bamboos are Golden Goddess next to a line of Golden Hedge bamboo to add variety and interest to the hedge.

Similarly, Golden Goddess, which is shorter than Green or Golden Hedge, works well when placed at the ends of a hedge of either or both of the larger bamboos.  Doing so creates an interesting visual arc when mature without sacrificing privacy.

No matter what types of bamboo you purchase, it is important to include soil amendments and irrigation in your plans.  Bamboo grows best in a rich but light soil (we suggest our custom mix called Bamboo Booster) and likes a high-nitrogen  fertilizer.  Water daily after planting and as often as possible during the first growing season.  

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.

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. 

See for yourself how fast bamboo grows!

The three Seabreeze clumping bamboos above were planted 5' apart in May 2008 from 3-gal size plants. The hedge is now approximately 14' tall. When the bamboos were first planted in May, each plant was about 6' tall and only had one cane. When they were planted, the three Seabreeze looked similar to the two Seabreeze on either side of the sign pictured below (click on image to make it larger and easier to see):



Keep in mind that the bamboos in the top photo have only gone through one growing season. As the weather warms this spring, summer and fall, many new shoots will emerge growing to be taller and larger diameters than the existing canes. By the winter of 2009 our demonstration hedge will have formed an even more solid wall of green than it already is. By the same time, the bamboos in the photo below (which were planted in January 2009) will have gone through one growing season and will look just like the hedge pictured in the top photo.