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!

 

Bamboo for interior design

A customer who ordered assorted sizes of our Domestically Grown Designer Bamboo poles to use as a focal point of their home's interior just emailed pictures of the finished project:

Hi Sherry, As promised, attached are the photos of the installation. Bamboo poles look fantastic! Thanks again for prompt shipment and high quality product.

Now we are thinking to plant some tall thin green plant in front of the bamboo poles. Is there some bamboo species that would fit the space and could live under artificial light?


I replied by saying that Dwarf Buddha Belly, Golden Goddess and Ladyfinger are three clumping bamboos that do especially well as indoor plants.  Also, any of our running bamboos would work well as container plants.  We especially like the way Green Hedge Running Bamboo, Yellow Groove and Black Running Bamboo work as container plants.  If 3-gal plants are purchased and repotted into 15-gal size containers, they will grow nicely, filling the containers in 2-3 years.  At that point they will need to be divided and reset into the same and additional pots. 

Should I support bamboo canes that lean?

 New shoots of Yin Yang clumping bamboo

A customer writes:
My wife and I visited your farm and bought a stand of yin-yang bamboo back in mid-May. We planted it according to your directions and it seems to be doing well. We've just had 2 strong shoots pop up and they are growing phenomenally. In the last few days, though, one of the mature canes is falling over. As I said, it looks very healthy, maybe too full and healthy! Anyway, I tied the canes together-there are maybe 3 or 4 total mature ones-to keep the one from falling over, but I wonder if by doing that I am jeopardizing the others that have remained upright. The one leaning over is kind of heavy. Any advice?

My response:
I'm glad to hear about all the new shoots!  Concerning the leaning mature cane.  You have 3 options:  

1) you can tie that cane to a stake to help keep it upright 
2) you can do as you've done and loosely tie the top heavy cane to other mature canes to keep it from bending over or 
3) you can trim the top part of the leaning cane off, which will prevent it from being so top heavy.

If you continue with option 2, you are not hurting the bamboo as long as you don't have the canes tied together too tightly.  Within a couple months when the new shoots now emerging grow tall, they (and other yet to emerge new shoots) will support the leaning cane.

If you opt for #3, you don't have to worry that topping the tall shoot will do any damage.  That cane will not grow more once it is topped but all the new shoots will grow taller. 

YinYang has a "weepy" profile, which means that leaning over canes are part of the plant's natural look.  With any bamboo you can modify the look of that clump by selective pruning.  

Before and After - Angel Mist and Blue Timber

I just received some great Before and After shots from Kristin and Ryan of St. Pete.  Although St. Pete is not that far away, being closer to the coast provided needed warmth for cold-sensitive plants like Angel Mist. 

 May 2009 - Two Angel Mist clumping bamboos planted in the foreground, one Blue Timber clumping bamboo planted in front of the door.

May 2010 - the house is hidden behind lush foliage!  

The red cylinders by the two Angel Mist bamboos are water devices Ryan developed.  He fills the tubes with collected rain water which leaches into the soil via very small holes punctured in the base of the cylinders.  Bamboos do better when receiving a constant slow drip instead of an occasional flooding.  

A customer shares photos of Angel Mist and Giant Timber Clumping Bamboos

A customer who bought bamboos from us three years ago returned to pick up four more plants this morning.  A few hours later, I received this email from her:


Hi, Sherry,
Many thanks for all your time this morning, walking me round the various specimens and for all your sage advice on which bamboo to choose. 

I'm attaching a few pictures I just snapped for you to show you my existing Giant Timber and Angel Mist bamboos. Not a bare cane in sight!

 Two Giant Timber bamboos - photo taken when they were 2 years old.  When they were first planted, both plants only had 1-3 canes and were just about as tall as the fence.

I have to say that I never thought I'd pay such so much money for such small plants, but what one is actually buying, of course, is the potential and the fun of watching them grow. 

When we first bought the Angel Mist about three years ago, I think it was, the children and I had so much fun walking up to the end of the garden every day to see how many new canes had emerged, what diameter they'd be, and how much they'd grown overnight. The second year I gave up looking - I couldn't keep up!                                

 Angel Mist

When my husband first mentioned wanting bamboos in the garden a few years ago I was rather ambivalent to the idea, but now I'm a devotee! Thank you for your wonderful showcase, which makes it so much easier to understand the differences between the different types available. I want a grove of that Vivax one day and when we do move I just might have to get a Ying-Yang to go with me!