Drooping bamboo
 

Hi there :)

I'm new to the forum and also quite new to gardening. We got out first house last year and I'm in the process of redoing the whole garden and just learning as I go along.

Anyway, I have a question about bamboo... I planted some Phyllostachys Bissetii bamboo in the spring which appear to have grown very well. They were bought at around 6ft tall, the existing culms didn't grow but loads of new ones have grown at varying heights but up to around 9.5ft. Anyway, I'm concerned about the strength of the bamboo. Here is a picture of the bamboo when wet:

http://www.trailblasters.co.uk/forum...ing_bamboo.jpg

You can see that a lot of the canes droop a lot and they all tend to lean towards the lawn.

However, some bamboo planted about 3 weeks (which arrived with similar growth) do not droop at all. I was suprised that the new bamboo (which had its new growth in pots) appears to be stronger. The new bamboo also appears to be relatively unaffected by the wind, but my existing bamboo blows about terribly.

Does it looks like the bamboo isn't as strong as it could be? Or should I be patient and wait a couple of years and hopefully bigger canes will appear? Or perhaps I should tie them up to encourage new culms to grow straight and stay straight?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks :)

1. Existing culms never grow any more once they have expanded in the year they appear.
2. Your drooping bamboo looks perfectly normal. The upper part of the culms are light and airy and will tend to bend over like that. This is a characteristic of the species. Some types of bamboo are droopy, some are stiffer. Looks just like the P Bissetii this guy is selling, which he describes as slightly arching http://www.uk-bamboos.co.uk/Detail-B...s_bissetii.htm But a lot less arching than this "fountain bamboo" http://www.uk-bamboos.co.uk/Detail-B..._murieliae.htm Why not use a bit of string to keep it more upright? That's what I do with my fountain bamboo.
3. The new bamboo you bought that doesn't droop, I rather suspect its a different species, isn't it?
4. You appear to have planted the bamboo along the property boundary. If you don't wish to annoy your neighbour with bamboo sprouting up in his garden, it would have been wise to put in an underground rhizome barrier to along the property boundary to contain it in your garden, to a depth of about 50cm. Thick HDPE sheeting 50cm wide is sold by bamboo specialists for this purpose. You can also make your own of masonry, cement, etc. Phyllostachys are running bamboos, and though they are nothing like as rampant in Britain as they are in the warm wet sticky summers of their native origins, they can spread about quite a bit, especially once they have been in the ground a few years.

Hi. Many thanks for your feedback, much appreciated. That makes me feel better about it :) The new bamboo is the same species, I think perhaps it's just because they have grown amongst other bamboo in a sheltered location.

I didn't put any HDPE sheeting down, but I did bury some wooden planks in between the fence posts to help control it, although probably not deep enough. However, next doors is either gravel, decking or paving so I'm kinda hoping the bamboo would never try and grow there anyway???

Thanks again.