On Jan 3, 2:47 am, echinosum
wrote:
Mitch Wrote: I'm looking for recommendations for the variety, spacing, and
planting of a bamboo to QUICKLY grow privacy screen in Victoria BC
(Zone 9). [snip]
· The length of the screen we plan on growing is 60' (18 meters).
[snip]
· While the screen will be planted along a 60' (18 meter) fence, we
would prefer a narrow dense long line of bamboo rather than a thick
bushy grove. Imagine a solid bamboo fence with a leafy canopy.
· We would prefer a green over a yellow colour, but cost is a greater
factor [snip]

The obvious suggestion is Semiarundinaria fastuosa or (better)
Semiarundinaria fastuosa var viridis. It is known as temple bamboo and
commonly used for hedging temples in Japan. The point about S. fastuosa
is that it can be easily persuaded to spread in straight lines, which
you achieve by enclosing it both sides so that only the direction you
are interested in is available to it. I believe it satisfies your other
requirements, especially in your climate, apart from the fact that it
leafs to the ground so you will have to clear the lower part of the
culms if desired. (The var viridis stays greener, and possibly even
more straight-line, whereas the species tends to lose the green colour
after a while, but is more easily purchased.) As to quickly, you will
have to wait some years for the final effect, unless you have a budget
in 1000s, but that will be true of any bamboo. I understand bamboos
tend to be fairly rampant in your climate, so perhaps not too many
years. But with the straight line tendency you can probably get away
with rather fewer plantings than might otherwise be necessary, since
most running bamboos have a grove-forming tendency. The
semiarundinarias are also a relatively cheap bamboo, though all bamboo
tends to be expensive, very expensive when you are buying 18m of it.
The alternative is to propagate your own, but that is time-consuming.

Otherwise several of the green Phyllostachys spp (P bissettii, P vivax,
P dulcis, etc, etc), are relatively quick to give height, and energetic
in their running, and I think would tend to spread pretty quickly in
your climate; but you could need more starter plants to fill out a
fence given their generally grove-forming tendencies. Vivax in
particular will have lower culms free from leaves; as well as the green
species you can get a variety called huanvenzhu which has a nice yellow
stripe on it, (as well as var aureocaulis, yellow with a green
stripe).

Best to avoid the utterly rampant Sasas which are too likely to escape
and become an ineradicable invasive weed in the PNW, even if you try to
enclose.

I would also suggest posting the question to the forum atwww.bambooweb.info, where you will find more bamboo traffic, with a
US/Canada bias. There are also quite a few active PNW posters at the
otherwise UK-focusedwww.ukoasis.co.ukexotic plants forum.

--
echinosum

Try Bambusa Edulus