On Tue, 7 Jun 2005 13:33:54 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:


I've deleted the post where someone suggested phyllostachys as a
hedging plant. I'm not sure that's a good idea :-)

Two years ago I planted a single plant of p aureocaulis from a 6" pot,
thinking it's a clumpforming one. Last year, it put up a couple of
modest little culms close to the originals. Yesterday, I was weeding
that bed and looked around for signs of new ones coming up in the same
spot..no sign. Then I became aware of something jabbing my bum, and
found I was squatting on top of a 20 " spear about 18 inches away from
the original plant.

Then I spotted loads more spears, coming up in a ring around the
mother plant with a diameter of nearly three feet. Talk about not seeing
the wood for the trees. I'm revising my notion of "clump".

Fortunately the bamboo is planted in a walled raised bed so for the
momnet it's still contained. The stone walls are about 1 ft higher than
the surrounding lawn. Will this be deep enough to restrict the bamboo's
roots, or will they dive underneath it?

My suggestion.

My local nursery describes it as 'non invasive' and 'the best bamboo
for hedging', and a book I have on ornamental grasses says it runs in
warm climates, but much less so and manageably in cool ones. But
'warm' and 'cool' aren't defined. Perhaps the UK is getting warmer!


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net