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| A pretty Green Anole poses on a culm of Blue Timber Clumping Bamboo |
9/17/10
Pretty Green Anole on Blue Timber bamboo
9/13/10
Is bamboo an option for me? Not always...
If you want to grow a living fence that will quickly provide a beautiful barrier, bamboo is usually the perfect choice. But not always. There are some situations where it simply won't work. The following email from a person in Missouri describes one such situation:
I am getting ready to move into a mobile home park after living on nearly a 1/4 acre with a huge yard for 15 years. It is a nice mobile home park but I would like to block the sun on the one side of the home and the view of my neighbors as well. I want to plant a hedge of bamboo, we are not allowed to have fences but we can plant trees.
I live in Missouri and I want to cover a length of about 30-40 feet only. I want it to be at least 12-15 feet tall but not 50 to 60, would prefer the height to be no more than 25 or so. We do get cold winters here hitting zero (occasionally below zero) and sometimes the wind chill factor goes below.
I noticed that some of the bamboo survived while being in containers. Can they grow indoors? Will the container bamboo survive cold winters? I definitely do not want to worry about the bamboo overtaking my neighbors or spreading where I do not want it to go.
Is bamboo an option for me?
My response:
I'm sorry, but bamboo really isn't an option for you. It is too cold in Missouri for clumping bamboos, which is non-invasive. The only types of bamboo that will survive your temperatures are the running bamboos and running bamboos are invasive plants. If you plant them in the ground, they will spread throughout the neighborhood. They would not be an appropriate choice for your situation.
What about growing them in pots? Since you are wanting to cover a 30' to 40' span and have plants 15' tall, you would need 5 to 10 plants. If you were to put those bamboo in pots, they'd be cumbersome to move every year from indoors to outdoors. That doesn't seem like a practical solution to your problem either.
I wish I could offer more encouragement but bamboo is not the right choice for every situation. In most of the country, running bamboos are all that grows but because it is invasive, it doesn't work everywhere. Clumping bamboos are non-invasive and grow quickly to form a solid hedge but they only do well in areas where the winter temperature doesn't fall below 15 degrees.
I am getting ready to move into a mobile home park after living on nearly a 1/4 acre with a huge yard for 15 years. It is a nice mobile home park but I would like to block the sun on the one side of the home and the view of my neighbors as well. I want to plant a hedge of bamboo, we are not allowed to have fences but we can plant trees.
I live in Missouri and I want to cover a length of about 30-40 feet only. I want it to be at least 12-15 feet tall but not 50 to 60, would prefer the height to be no more than 25 or so. We do get cold winters here hitting zero (occasionally below zero) and sometimes the wind chill factor goes below.
I noticed that some of the bamboo survived while being in containers. Can they grow indoors? Will the container bamboo survive cold winters? I definitely do not want to worry about the bamboo overtaking my neighbors or spreading where I do not want it to go.
Is bamboo an option for me?
My response:
I'm sorry, but bamboo really isn't an option for you. It is too cold in Missouri for clumping bamboos, which is non-invasive. The only types of bamboo that will survive your temperatures are the running bamboos and running bamboos are invasive plants. If you plant them in the ground, they will spread throughout the neighborhood. They would not be an appropriate choice for your situation.
What about growing them in pots? Since you are wanting to cover a 30' to 40' span and have plants 15' tall, you would need 5 to 10 plants. If you were to put those bamboo in pots, they'd be cumbersome to move every year from indoors to outdoors. That doesn't seem like a practical solution to your problem either.
I wish I could offer more encouragement but bamboo is not the right choice for every situation. In most of the country, running bamboos are all that grows but because it is invasive, it doesn't work everywhere. Clumping bamboos are non-invasive and grow quickly to form a solid hedge but they only do well in areas where the winter temperature doesn't fall below 15 degrees.
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| The canes on this stand of Vivax Running Bamboo were bent by a covering of icicles in the winter of 2009 but because it is a running bamboo, the canes were undamaged. As soon as the ice melted, they straightened up and remained green and leafy. Running bamboos like cold weather but because they are invasive plants, they are not appropriate for every situation. |
9/10/10
Green Treefrog
I had just finished helping a customer at Beautiful Bamboo when I looked up at the gazebo roof and noticed this little green treefrog on one of the poles.
I love these small, cute frogs with the white stripe outlining their bright green torsos. The frog in the picture has adopted the bamboo gazebo as its home. Great choice! He's safe and I get to watch him whenever I'm in the nursery. I often see him sitting on a pole patiently waiting for food to fly by. In his own small way, the little green treefrog is helping to keep the biting bugs at bay. Every little bit helps.
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| Green Treefrog on bamboo pole |
9/1/10
Green Hedge Clumping Bamboo - A fast, effective barrier plant
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
8/5/10
How to care for established bamboo plants
A customer from Riverview, Florida who purchased several Green Hedge clumping bamboos (Bambusa multiplex 'Silverstripe') emailed to say:
About 4 years ago I bought some bamboo from your lovely property. We love it and it did everything you said it would. It blocked a two story house that had been built behind us and provided a beautiful screen for our viewing pleasure. My question has to do with keeping the bamboo as a smaller clump to fit the area it is in. When new stalks come up do I dig it up or just cut it at ground level? Can I thin it a little from the middle by cutting stalks shorter or will they get new growth on the cut stalk like some plants do? And lastly, since this is such a prolific grower is it really necessary to feed the bamboo or does it need it to keep a green color? And what do you think is the best food for it?
By the way, this bamboo went through those horrible freezes we have had for the last two winters with flying colors. I couldn't be happier. When the rest of my plants and bushes were devastated the bamboo was our shining star.
My response:
The best way to maintain a clumping bamboo once it has reached the size you want is to knock over new shoots when they appear around the perimeter of the clump. Kicking or knocking over the young shoots stops that shoot from growing. During the summer above-ground growing season, other new shoots may still appear but when they do, they can be knocked over as well.
Another way to control the size of a clump is to cut back on watering and fertilizing once the circle of bamboo has gotten as big as you want it to be. A mature clump of bamboo does well even without extra water and fertilizer.
New shoots cannot be dug up and transplanted. First of all, digging through a mature clump of bamboo is extremely difficult since the root system is so dense. If you do manage to cut through with a reciprocal saw, ax or specially designed shovel, you would only want to cut out mature, fully leafed canes. New shoots would have to grow up and leaf out before they can be divided off.
Any time a bamboo culm/cane is topped, it will not grow any taller. It will, however, get leafier below where it has been cut. Cutting out canes from the center of a clump provides a more open appearance. Although new shoots sometimes come up in the middle, their tendency is to appear around the perimeter.
The fertilizer we like best is a 6-month time-release formula (18-6-8) high in nitrogen, which is what bamboos need for optimal growth. We can send you a 1#, 3# or 6# package of fertilizer if you are interested.
About 4 years ago I bought some bamboo from your lovely property. We love it and it did everything you said it would. It blocked a two story house that had been built behind us and provided a beautiful screen for our viewing pleasure. My question has to do with keeping the bamboo as a smaller clump to fit the area it is in. When new stalks come up do I dig it up or just cut it at ground level? Can I thin it a little from the middle by cutting stalks shorter or will they get new growth on the cut stalk like some plants do? And lastly, since this is such a prolific grower is it really necessary to feed the bamboo or does it need it to keep a green color? And what do you think is the best food for it?
By the way, this bamboo went through those horrible freezes we have had for the last two winters with flying colors. I couldn't be happier. When the rest of my plants and bushes were devastated the bamboo was our shining star.
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| A 6-year-old clump of Green Hedge bamboo |
My response:
The best way to maintain a clumping bamboo once it has reached the size you want is to knock over new shoots when they appear around the perimeter of the clump. Kicking or knocking over the young shoots stops that shoot from growing. During the summer above-ground growing season, other new shoots may still appear but when they do, they can be knocked over as well.
Another way to control the size of a clump is to cut back on watering and fertilizing once the circle of bamboo has gotten as big as you want it to be. A mature clump of bamboo does well even without extra water and fertilizer.
New shoots cannot be dug up and transplanted. First of all, digging through a mature clump of bamboo is extremely difficult since the root system is so dense. If you do manage to cut through with a reciprocal saw, ax or specially designed shovel, you would only want to cut out mature, fully leafed canes. New shoots would have to grow up and leaf out before they can be divided off.
Any time a bamboo culm/cane is topped, it will not grow any taller. It will, however, get leafier below where it has been cut. Cutting out canes from the center of a clump provides a more open appearance. Although new shoots sometimes come up in the middle, their tendency is to appear around the perimeter.
The fertilizer we like best is a 6-month time-release formula (18-6-8) high in nitrogen, which is what bamboos need for optimal growth. We can send you a 1#, 3# or 6# package of fertilizer if you are interested.
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