(Surfgeotwo) wrote in message ...

about how tall will a 5-gal of the two clumpers you mentioned be? and will it
be a big clump or a few culms? can it be split? if i dont split it, i am
guessing that planting the clumps in single file will result in a screen about
2' thick in 3 or 4 years??

seeing as i am on a limited budget and need about 100 feet, thats 20 or so
plants at 5' centers, so cost is a factor.

When buying bamboo, you are buying the "rhizome" more than the canes.
The canes are almost completely disposable. When you get the plants
home, make sure you cut the pots off of the plant carefully, don't
yank them out of the pots. I use a linoleum knife, it is perfect for
cutting pots.

Once they are in the ground, soak them thoroughly, and (if you are
lazy like me) use a drip irrigation system to keep the area damp,
mulch helps quite a bit. No standing water on either of the clumpers
below. They like moist soil, but they don't have gills. The plants
may be a little shocky, sometimes they even look thoroughly dead..
they almost always come back.

Hold off fertilizing for about 6 months, then regular old time release
lawn fertilizer is good. It is hard to over fertilize bamboo, but I
hear it can be done, if you use time release you should be ok.

After one year, my 5 gal Bambusa Oldhamii is about 7" tall with a few
canes about 3/4" in diameter. It is still weak. When I got it, there
were 3 or 4 spindly canes about 3' tall. After 8 months, my 15 gal
starts have shoots about 18' tall and 1" to 2" in diameter. Only use
these plants if you want tall thick screen. Follow the link below and
look at "Long Beach" 1998-2001.

http://www.endangeredspecies.com/tex...ambusa/BO.html

I bought a 7 gal Alphonse Karr, it is 7' tall (topped, it should be
taller, but it came that way) with a few canes the largest being about
3/4", about max culm diameter.

Alphonse Karr is probably closer to what you want for your hedge.

What you could do, is get what you can afford and plant on 10'
centers, and then as budget permits fill in a gap. It will take some
time for these plants to build a decent hedge, especially from small
starts, but bigger starts will cut time off of the job. It is a
balance of time vs. money, I bought 5 gal Phylostachys Bambusoides
(Giant Timber Bamboo) for a section of my yard between a wall and
concrete deck, and I really wish I had gotten bigger plants. The ones
I have now, are good, but my buddy bought larger plants at the same
time and his performance is twice what mine have done.

Hope it helps!

Chris
Chino,CA