Quote:
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Originally Posted by Chris Hogg
On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 11:36:36 +0000, sarasara
wrote:
I need to screen off a farmyard from the house and as there seems to be
no known fast growing hedge that grows no more than 4/5 metres high I
am looking at the idea of bamboo.
Can anyone suggest a fast growing well spreading bamboo suitable for
peaty soils?
Thanks,
sara.
Seems like a good idea in principle, except that I would have thought
what you _don't_ want is one that spreads, as they can be invasive and
a real problem. Phyllostachys aurea (or indeed any species of
Phyllostachys) is recommended for hedging. OTOH if you mean
'spreading' as in 'bushy', then think about Fargesia murielae or F.
nitida, the latter being slightly more upright. How fast they grow, I
don't know. A problem I foresee is that bamboos aren't cheap to buy
(P. aurea at £13 and F. murielae at £11 each at my local nursery), so
a whole hedge could work out expensive.
There are a number of moderately tall, fairly fast growing shrubs that
are used for hedging (e.g. Olearia traversii, Eleagnus ebbingei,
Escallonia species) that get to the sort of height you want, but
they're not fully hardy so it depends where you are.
--
Chris
E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
Thanks Chris for a very comprehesive answer. Where I live is northern ireland which is damp with long winters and in a peaty area. So I had rather discounted shrubs, through infront of any hedging some rhodendrum would be introduced which eventually would grow up to do the job.
I have heard that you need to put down a vertical strip of heavy plastic lining to keep the bamboos from spreading, though my childhood memories of bamboo were that they were very easy to cut back and the ones cut down were useful for the garden.
I have since discovered a suppliers website in the uk and they have the variety you suggested and two others listed as good hedging bamboos, so just awaiting a quote.
Sure you are right about the cost so I propose to start with just one plant and subdivide new shoots to replant further along until the whole area is covered.....make take a couple of years!
Regards,
Sara.