We want to have a pretty dense screen that will grow to 20 feet or so (in
our climate, not just theoretically in the tropics). We will improve the
soil with plenty of peat moss and composted cow manure, so nutrients and
drainage should not be problems. We are in zone 6, and soil runs somewhat
acid. The site is 125' by 6' and will have rhizome barrier. Lighting
varies from part-shade to full sun. Given the fairly large area, I would
like something that spreads quickly. Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic). We are considering:

P rubromarginata
P bissetti
Pseudosasa Japonica

I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area. I have considered dividing my 6' depth with
rhizome barrier and planting a taller bamboo in the back and pseudosasa
japonica in the foreground. Will having only three feet of depth limit the
height on these?

I had about settled on rubromarginata when a nursery person told me that its
adequacy as a screen varies a lot by season and site. In Winter, it tends
to be a much lighter screen, while warm Summers (especially with plenty of
water) really make it dense. I was really hoping for something that would
be dense year-round.

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Thanks for your input.
-----------
Bob Peticolas

On Wed, 4 Jun 2003 19:55:27 -0400, Bob Hardy wrote:

Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic).

Hello Bob

A dense screen and max. height is somewhat conflicting.
a) Most high Phyllos. tend to have no leaves at the bottom if they are
grown up (some years later). Maybe Ph.nigra henonis ist one of the
best in this sense.
b) If you want to have many leaves at the bottom then cut old culms
early, say after 4 years instead of 5. Old culms bear most of the
leaves and shade the bottom.

P bissetti

Is told to be very dense even at the bottom. Ask me some years later
when mine is grown up :-)

I had about settled on rubromarginata when a nursery person told me that its
adequacy as a screen varies a lot by season and site. In Winter, it tends
to be a much lighter screen, while warm Summers (especially with plenty of
water) really make it dense.

This is more or less typical for all Phyllostachys. I've seen 8
species in summer and early winter.

I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area.

An old grove nearby has about 5m in wine climate (zone 7).

Will having only three feet of depth limit the
height on these?

I don't think so if the barrier is sufficiently long, especially for
the smaller ones like bissetii. Maybe watering is not as good.

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Take a look at Ph.aureosulcata and Ph.nigra henonis/boryana. The first
is a strong runner and hard, a bit higher than bissetii, the second a
high bamboo but maybe not a strong runner in your climate. But check
if they do it in your climate! Maybe Ph. nuda is a choice, too.

Another choice may be Fargesia in front of a large Phyllo. Grown up
fargesia have no leaves at the bottom but so many culms that it is
quite dense. Sorry for my english, I am not a native speaker.

Stefan

"Bob Hardy" wrote in message news:XFvDa.1460$2A2.1342@lakeread05...
We want to have a pretty dense screen that will grow to 20 feet or so (in
our climate, not just theoretically in the tropics). We will improve the
soil with plenty of peat moss and composted cow manure, so nutrients and
drainage should not be problems. We are in zone 6, and soil runs somewhat
acid. The site is 125' by 6' and will have rhizome barrier. Lighting
varies from part-shade to full sun. Given the fairly large area, I would
like something that spreads quickly. Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic). We are considering:

P rubromarginata
P bissetti
Pseudosasa Japonica

I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area. I have considered dividing my 6' depth with
rhizome barrier and planting a taller bamboo in the back and pseudosasa
japonica in the foreground. Will having only three feet of depth limit the
height on these?

I had about settled on rubromarginata when a nursery person told me that its
adequacy as a screen varies a lot by season and site. In Winter, it tends
to be a much lighter screen, while warm Summers (especially with plenty of
water) really make it dense. I was really hoping for something that would
be dense year-round.

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Thanks for your input.
-----------
Bob Peticolas


Plant all 3 that way you are not left exposed should one of them
flower and decline. bissetti tends to flop over/arch fountain like.
P. aureosulcata is nice and is a fast grower. I wouldn't divide the
barrier myself I would just selectively prune to keep the lower plants
in the foreground. IMO bamboo landscaping is not for the plant and
forget set.

Beecrofter wrote in message
om...
"Bob Hardy" wrote in message
news:XFvDa.1460$2A2.1342@lakeread05...
We want to have a pretty dense screen that will grow to 20 feet or so
(in
our climate, not just theoretically in the tropics). We will improve
the
soil with plenty of peat moss and composted cow manure, so nutrients and
drainage should not be problems. We are in zone 6, and soil runs
somewhat
acid. The site is 125' by 6' and will have rhizome barrier. Lighting
varies from part-shade to full sun. Given the fairly large area, I
would
like something that spreads quickly. Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic). We are considering:

P rubromarginata
P bissetti
Pseudosasa Japonica

I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area. I have considered dividing my 6' depth
with
rhizome barrier and planting a taller bamboo in the back and pseudosasa
japonica in the foreground. Will having only three feet of depth limit
the
height on these?

I had about settled on rubromarginata when a nursery person told me that
its
adequacy as a screen varies a lot by season and site. In Winter, it
tends
to be a much lighter screen, while warm Summers (especially with plenty
of
water) really make it dense. I was really hoping for something that
would
be dense year-round.

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Thanks for your input.
-----------
Bob Peticolas


Plant all 3 that way you are not left exposed should one of them
flower and decline. bissetti tends to flop over/arch fountain like.
P. aureosulcata is nice and is a fast grower. I wouldn't divide the
barrier myself I would just selectively prune to keep the lower plants
in the foreground. IMO bamboo landscaping is not for the plant and
forget set.

The only reason I thought of dividing the barrier is that I am concerned
that the more dominant bamboo will crowd out the less dominant bamboo, and
after a few years, I will have one variety. I do a lot of gardening but I
have no bamboo experience, so I could be entirely wrong about my concern.

-------
Bob

Stefan Trcek wrote in message
...
On Wed, 4 Jun 2003 19:55:27 -0400, Bob Hardy wrote:

Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic).

Hello Bob

A dense screen and max. height is somewhat conflicting.
a) Most high Phyllos. tend to have no leaves at the bottom if they are
grown up (some years later). Maybe Ph.nigra henonis ist one of the
best in this sense.
b) If you want to have many leaves at the bottom then cut old culms
early, say after 4 years instead of 5. Old culms bear most of the
leaves and shade the bottom.

P bissetti

Is told to be very dense even at the bottom. Ask me some years later
when mine is grown up :-)

I had about settled on rubromarginata when a nursery person told me that
its
adequacy as a screen varies a lot by season and site. In Winter, it
tends
to be a much lighter screen, while warm Summers (especially with plenty
of
water) really make it dense.

This is more or less typical for all Phyllostachys. I've seen 8
species in summer and early winter.

I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area.

An old grove nearby has about 5m in wine climate (zone 7).

Will having only three feet of depth limit the
height on these?

I don't think so if the barrier is sufficiently long, especially for
the smaller ones like bissetii. Maybe watering is not as good.

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Take a look at Ph.aureosulcata and Ph.nigra henonis/boryana. The first
is a strong runner and hard, a bit higher than bissetii, the second a
high bamboo but maybe not a strong runner in your climate. But check
if they do it in your climate! Maybe Ph. nuda is a choice, too.

Another choice may be Fargesia in front of a large Phyllo. Grown up
fargesia have no leaves at the bottom but so many culms that it is
quite dense. Sorry for my english, I am not a native speaker.

Stefan


Thanks Stefan. Your english is great. I would not have known you were not a
native speaker. Thanks for the suggestions. You have me thinking I might
want something other than Phyllostachys.

----------
Bob

Beecrofter wrote in message
om...
"Bob Hardy" wrote in message
news:XFvDa.1460$2A2.1342@lakeread05...
We want to have a pretty dense screen that will grow to 20 feet or so
(in
our climate, not just theoretically in the tropics). We will improve
the
soil with plenty of peat moss and composted cow manure, so nutrients and
drainage should not be problems. We are in zone 6, and soil runs
somewhat
acid. The site is 125' by 6' and will have rhizome barrier. Lighting
varies from part-shade to full sun. Given the fairly large area, I
would
like something that spreads quickly. Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic). We are considering:

P rubromarginata
P bissetti
Pseudosasa Japonica

I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area. I have considered dividing my 6' depth
with
rhizome barrier and planting a taller bamboo in the back and pseudosasa
japonica in the foreground. Will having only three feet of depth limit
the
height on these?

I had about settled on rubromarginata when a nursery person told me that
its
adequacy as a screen varies a lot by season and site. In Winter, it
tends
to be a much lighter screen, while warm Summers (especially with plenty
of
water) really make it dense. I was really hoping for something that
would
be dense year-round.

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Thanks for your input.
-----------
Bob Peticolas


Plant all 3 that way you are not left exposed should one of them
flower and decline. bissetti tends to flop over/arch fountain like.
P. aureosulcata is nice and is a fast grower. I wouldn't divide the
barrier myself I would just selectively prune to keep the lower plants
in the foreground. IMO bamboo landscaping is not for the plant and
forget set.

Thanks. After re-reading your note, I understand you are suggesting keeping
each in their place with judicious pruning.

I am looking more seriously at P aureosulcata. There is a large grove
nearby that looks great I understand it is known for good winter foliage.

-----------
Bob

"Bob Hardy" wrote in message news:XFvDa.1460$2A2.1342@lakeread05...
We want to have a pretty dense screen that will grow to 20 feet or so (in
our climate, not just theoretically in the tropics). We will improve the
soil with plenty of peat moss and composted cow manure, so nutrients and
drainage should not be problems. We are in zone 6, and soil runs somewhat
acid. The site is 125' by 6' and will have rhizome barrier. Lighting
varies from part-shade to full sun. Given the fairly large area, I would
like something that spreads quickly. Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic). We are considering:

P rubromarginata
P bissetti
Pseudosasa Japonica




I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area. I have considered dividing my 6' depth with
rhizome barrier and planting a taller bamboo in the back and pseudosasa
japonica in the foreground. Will having only three feet of depth limit the
height on these?

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Three feet is plenty. Have you considered P. Aurea? It grows in a
dense hedge from 15-25' in height, it is evergreen and it is cheap.
It is about as cold hardy as P. Bissetti (per the documentation.. I've
never tested either of them for cold hardiness). How cold does it get
in your area??

Golden bamboo is more golden due to its utilitarian nature... not so
much the color. It takes intense sunlight to turn it yellow.

As for soil amendments.. I'd avoid peat, there was some discussion a
while back that peat somehow stunts shooting. Most bamboo are "bottom
feeders" and will thrive in most types of soil and just about any type
of fertilizer. Acidic soil is a plus. In the beginning use some time
release lawn fertilizers and then once established you can move on to
other fertilizers like manure. I've used Ammonium Sulfate with no ill
effects on the boo, it did however kill the grass in between.. within
minutes :-)

Good luck!

Chris
So Cal

Chris wrote in message
om...
"Bob Hardy" wrote in message
news:XFvDa.1460$2A2.1342@lakeread05...
We want to have a pretty dense screen that will grow to 20 feet or so
(in
our climate, not just theoretically in the tropics). We will improve
the
soil with plenty of peat moss and composted cow manure, so nutrients and
drainage should not be problems. We are in zone 6, and soil runs
somewhat
acid. The site is 125' by 6' and will have rhizome barrier. Lighting
varies from part-shade to full sun. Given the fairly large area, I
would
like something that spreads quickly. Ideally, I like large leaves and
leaves as far down the culm as possible (but a dense screen is the most
important characteristic). We are considering:

P rubromarginata
P bissetti
Pseudosasa Japonica




I like the larger leaves of the P Japonica, but I am concerned that 12'
might be the max in this area. I have considered dividing my 6' depth
with
rhizome barrier and planting a taller bamboo in the back and pseudosasa
japonica in the foreground. Will having only three feet of depth limit
the
height on these?

Do you have any other suggestions for my situation?

Three feet is plenty. Have you considered P. Aurea? It grows in a
dense hedge from 15-25' in height, it is evergreen and it is cheap.
It is about as cold hardy as P. Bissetti (per the documentation.. I've
never tested either of them for cold hardiness). How cold does it get
in your area??

Golden bamboo is more golden due to its utilitarian nature... not so
much the color. It takes intense sunlight to turn it yellow.

As for soil amendments.. I'd avoid peat, there was some discussion a
while back that peat somehow stunts shooting. Most bamboo are "bottom
feeders" and will thrive in most types of soil and just about any type
of fertilizer. Acidic soil is a plus. In the beginning use some time
release lawn fertilizers and then once established you can move on to
other fertilizers like manure. I've used Ammonium Sulfate with no ill
effects on the boo, it did however kill the grass in between.. within
minutes :-)



Thanks Chris. We theoretically get to -10. Last winter was by far the
coldest I've experienced and we got to -2. In the 6 years before that, we
never recorded a temp lower than +5.

I think golden bamboo would survive here, but it would lose its leaves every
winter (loses leaves between +5 and +10), and in some winters would die back
to the ground. Bissetti does not lose all its leaves until you get below -5
(per EndangeredSpeices.com anyway). Thanks for the comment about peat moss.
I was unaware that was a problem. I thought about using it because I knew
bamboos liked adequate drainage. Soil here is pretty good anyway.

-------------
Bob

On Thu, 05 Jun 2003 19:34:03 GMT, Bob Hardy wrote:

The only reason I thought of dividing the barrier is that I am concerned
that the more dominant bamboo will crowd out the less dominant bamboo, and
after a few years, I will have one variety. I do a lot of gardening but I
have no bamboo experience, so I could be entirely wrong about my concern.

Both runners are dominant, they will mix up. It is your choice to cut
new shoots of one variety if you can distinguisch them. Or you
separate them by a 30cm deep trench, fill in straw and cut the running
over rhizomes with a knob cutter during summer. So you can keep them
separated.

As of Ph.aureosulcata: This is a very upright bamboo and keeps upright
in comparingly strong winds. The culms of the aureocaulis (yellow) or
spectabilis (yellow with green sulcus) type are a nice contrast to the
green leaves.

Stefan

On 5 Jun 2003 22:31:44 -0700, Chris wrote:

Three feet is plenty. Have you considered P. Aurea? It grows in a
dense hedge from 15-25' in height, it is evergreen and it is cheap.
It is about as cold hardy as P. Bissetti (per the documentation.. I've
never tested either of them for cold hardiness). How cold does it get
in your area??

Hi Chris
P.aurea doesn't do very well here (zone 7), it survives (depends on
which subspecies you have choosen) but has damages every winter, may
even freeze down while P.bissetii is one of the best in our climate.

The reason may be that we often have cold winter nights (-10,
sometines -15 Celsius) without snow combined with dry continental
winds and sunny, warm winter days. This is more hassling to bamboo
than -20 Celsius WITH snow.

So don't rely on the temperature alone, there are some other important
points to watch.

Stefan