Rick DeBay wrote in message ...


The info at tropicalbamboo.com says it "grows erect and arches at the top" so I
was hoping that they would start to fan out so as to produce an open screen.

Well, when it reaches the limit of it's heights and starts putting on
a lot of leaves, they well arch over due to the excess weight of the
leaves. I've seen the Bambusa Oldhamii's in this area arch back a
full 7 or 8 feet, but not as artfully as I would like.

Do you mean that even though Lako is a clumper, it will still spread? Will I be
able to control its spread easily by culling the culms as they come up?

When I say they will spread, it is most likely no more than 2 feet a
year, depending on the size of the plant. It doesn't send runners
underground and pop up across the yard. You will be able to see the
limits of your plant from above.

My Phylostachys Bambusoides in it's first year in the ground has run
more than 15 feet and that was really only limited by the barrier I
had placed underground :-) Truth be told, if I had known it was going
to run that much in the first year I would have spaced them out a bit
more. I planted them 6 feet apart.

Thanks for the quick reply. I wouldn't mind having some of your low humidity
here in south Florida, although today it's quite nice.

It is a might humid here today.. but still not enough to support
plants like Lako... Some day I'll build my 40' high greenhouse :-)

Chris
Chino,CA