Apologies in advance for boring you.. I posted a similar request way back in
October 2002.. I am still trying to decide if bamboo or what bamboo is the
right choice..

I want to plant a screen between my home and my neighbor's. I have very
limited horizontal space (between fence and pool) so bamboo seems like a
logical choice. I am in Maryland (Zone 7a). The planting site is a 30-40
foot strip along the south edge of my property, behind a 6 foot solid wood
fence. In the shade of the fence it is, well, shady. If and when the bamboo
makes it past the top of the fence, there partial sun (site is partly under
the canopy of large oak trees). My neighbor to the north has a stand of what
I suspect to be yellowgroove bamboo, and it seems to do pretty well under
similar conditions (it is at the south side of his house, behind a similar
6' fence, under similar tree canopy.) I have discussed it with my neighbors
to the south, and they like the idea of planting bamboo. I would not need to
install a rhizome barrier.

(a) Does anyone have specific recommendations? I would like to end up with
something 15-20 feet tall.

(b) I have heard that patience is a necessary attribute with bamboo.
However, this is the age of "instant gratification", to which I have
acquiesced, and I want privacy now! How long after planting will I have an
adequate screen?

(c) I have heard that it is possible to start with more than one plant, for
better initial coverage. But eventually one plant will become dominant and
crowd out the others. In the long run, it will take longer for the one plant
to establish, because of the competition. Is this true?

Regards,

Chris Herring

Chris Herring wrote:
Apologies in advance for boring you.. I posted a similar
request way back in October 2002.. I am still trying to decide
if bamboo or what bamboo is the right choice..

You might try asking here or even joining.
http://www.topica.com/lists/BambooGrove

--
Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

I live in Seattle and have had a wall of bamboo for 25 years now. When we bought the house we had 3 feet of it and gradually we dug up and transplanted it to be as it is. It is 20 feet long and 6 feet wide. The first 15 years were great and now we wish we'd never encouraged it! It is the plant from hell.

We did not use a barrier and now it is coming up in our neighbors yard 50 feet away and all over in our lovely garden. We have tried everything to kill the plant where it comes up and nothing does it for long. The best thing is to dig it out down a foot. and that only controls it at that spot. It pushes up the bricks in our patio, too. You cannot dig anywhere around it unless you use a hatchet! The roots are as thick and tough as the stalks. I recently carved a path of flagstone next to our gove and it was pure hell cutting through the roots. New shoots are coming up between the flagstones!!!

Yes, we loved it for the privacy and the exotic look--but I would NEVER plant it again. It is truly uncontrollable. I know the experts claim that barriers will stop it--but I'd talk to someone who has had bamboo with barriers for a long time before I'd chance this plant. It is really tough stuff. I doubt a barrier would control it. I'd investigate 'clumping' bamboo before I'd plant the creeping kind. Maybe it doesn't spread. Also, it is VERY messy as beige covers fall down all the time and must be swept up constantly. they do not decay and keep water from sinking into the ground.

Sorry to be so negetive-but I'd look into fence/vine combos, hedging, etc. Skip the bamboo!

Hi Chris. There are many bamboo sites on the web, but I think your best
sources of information are local, like the information on the yellow groove
bamboo (although you might just knock on their door and confirm the
species). The bamboo web sites describe the "maximum height" of each
species under ideal conditions, but YOUR local maximum height may be very
different.

Maybe someone here can point you to a specialty bamboo nursery in the area.
Often, the largest general nurseries will carry a few varieties of bamboo,
and they may be able to give you addresses to view mature groves.

Yellow groove and most other Phylostchys like full sun. You might want to
purchase large plants that are already higher than the fence. Bamboo is
fast, but it is not instant. It also depends on how happy the plants are.
In your situation, I would probably plant two or three species, and see
which does best. I would then add more of the one that likes the site the
best.

Aside from flats of annuals and people so wealthy they can buy 50' trees,
gardening requires at least some patience. A fast growing happy runner
could look pretty good in 3 years and would certainly look great in 6-8
years. The more plants you start with, the quicker you will have a grove.

Good Luck. Take the last two ss from the email address for personal
response.
-------
Bob



You might call around and see if any larger
Chris Herring wrote in message
...
Apologies in advance for boring you.. I posted a similar request way back
in
October 2002.. I am still trying to decide if bamboo or what bamboo is the
right choice..

I want to plant a screen between my home and my neighbor's. I have very
limited horizontal space (between fence and pool) so bamboo seems like a
logical choice. I am in Maryland (Zone 7a). The planting site is a 30-40
foot strip along the south edge of my property, behind a 6 foot solid wood
fence. In the shade of the fence it is, well, shady. If and when the
bamboo
makes it past the top of the fence, there partial sun (site is partly
under
the canopy of large oak trees). My neighbor to the north has a stand of
what
I suspect to be yellowgroove bamboo, and it seems to do pretty well under
similar conditions (it is at the south side of his house, behind a similar
6' fence, under similar tree canopy.) I have discussed it with my
neighbors
to the south, and they like the idea of planting bamboo. I would not need
to
install a rhizome barrier.

(a) Does anyone have specific recommendations? I would like to end up with
something 15-20 feet tall.

(b) I have heard that patience is a necessary attribute with bamboo.
However, this is the age of "instant gratification", to which I have
acquiesced, and I want privacy now! How long after planting will I have an
adequate screen?

(c) I have heard that it is possible to start with more than one plant,
for
better initial coverage. But eventually one plant will become dominant and
crowd out the others. In the long run, it will take longer for the one
plant
to establish, because of the competition. Is this true?

Regards,

Chris Herring

For digging, I've heard that a 90 pound jack hammer with a wide blade
works well. Also I killed some vivax by putting on too much ammonia
nitrate once, I thought it would be good fertilizer but it killed it
very quickly.

kathy king wrote:

I live in Seattle and have had a wall of bamboo for 25 years now. When
we bought the house we had 3 feet of it and gradually we dug up and
transplanted it to be as it is. It is 20 feet long and 6 feet wide. The
first 15 years were great and now we wish we'd never encouraged it! It
is the plant from hell.

We did not use a barrier and now it is coming up in our neighbors yard
50 feet away and all over in our lovely garden. We have tried
everything to kill the plant where it comes up and nothing does it for
long. The best thing is to dig it out down a foot. and that only
controls it at that spot. It pushes up the bricks in our patio, too.
You cannot dig anywhere around it unless you use a hatchet! The roots
are as thick and tough as the stalks. I recently carved a path of
flagstone next to our gove and it was pure hell cutting through the
roots. New shoots are coming up between the flagstones!!!

Yes, we loved it for the privacy and the exotic look--but I would NEVER
plant it again. It is truly uncontrollable. I know the experts claim
that barriers will stop it--but I'd talk to someone who has had bamboo
with barriers for a long time before I'd chance this plant. It is
really tough stuff. I doubt a barrier would control it. I'd investigate
'clumping' bamboo before I'd plant the creeping kind. Maybe it doesn't
spread. Also, it is VERY messy as beige covers fall down all the time
and must be swept up constantly. they do not decay and keep water from
sinking into the ground.

Sorry to be so negetive-but I'd look into fence/vine combos, hedging,
etc. Skip the bamboo!
--
kathy king
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

Bri wrote in message ...
For digging, I've heard that a 90 pound jack hammer with a wide blade
works well.

Having had to do this with an Ash tree... I wouldn't recommend it, it
is hard and painful, and this was doing it the "easy" way. With a
jackhammer you have to keep pulling it back up out of the dirt... it
hurts. The gadd (wide blade/asphalt blade) adds another 20 lbs.

I would use a sharpshooter or a nice new/sharp trenching shovel to
break through the rhizomes.

Also I killed some vivax by putting on too much ammonia
nitrate once, I thought it would be good fertilizer but it killed it
very quickly.

I used Ammonium Nitrate on my B. Oldhamii, lots of it and within
minutes the grass in between turned yellow :-) the bamboo was happy
as can be.

Runners don't seem to like the "hotter" fertilizers like the clumpers.

Chris
Chino, CA