Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O

"orangetrader" wrote in message
...
Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning
to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them
onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and
very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O
Take a trip around your area..there is bound to be somebody
who will pay you to take bamboo out of his yard. I have some
kudsu I could send you if you want,

alice

"orangetrader" wrote in message
...
Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning
to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them
onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and
very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O
Take a trip around your area..there is bound to be somebody
who will pay you to take bamboo out of his yard. I have some
kudsu I could send you if you want,

alice

In article , "orangetrader"
wrote:

I'm not an expert in bamboo but I do know that many kinds grow rapidly
and they are hard to contain. It becomes a very invasive weed. If you
are searching for the tropical feeling, there are many other plants that
are effective. The giant bird-of-paradise has a great tropical
influence. I had a small plot of bamboo once and it took three years of
effort to eliminate the plant.

Dick


Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are
just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning
to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the
backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even
grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60

In article , "orangetrader"
wrote:

I'm not an expert in bamboo but I do know that many kinds grow rapidly
and they are hard to contain. It becomes a very invasive weed. If you
are searching for the tropical feeling, there are many other plants that
are effective. The giant bird-of-paradise has a great tropical
influence. I had a small plot of bamboo once and it took three years of
effort to eliminate the plant.

Dick


Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are
just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning
to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the
backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even
grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60

"orangetrader" wrote in message ...
Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O

Over in Delray off powerline is the American Orchid Society. They had
a bamboo there from I believe Madagascar that was to die for. In front
to the right of the entrance and around back.
They share a driveway with Morikami gardens. Just over the line from
Boca.
The museum has a cafe worth the trip, I reccomend the cellophane
noodles.
Also there is a bamboo newsgroup- rec gardens bamboo and a gardenweb
group.

"orangetrader" wrote in message ...
Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O

Over in Delray off powerline is the American Orchid Society. They had
a bamboo there from I believe Madagascar that was to die for. In front
to the right of the entrance and around back.
They share a driveway with Morikami gardens. Just over the line from
Boca.
The museum has a cafe worth the trip, I reccomend the cellophane
noodles.
Also there is a bamboo newsgroup- rec gardens bamboo and a gardenweb
group.

Hello! The good news is that most tropical bamboos are clumpers. Your
"Buddha's Belly" bamboo is Bambusa ventricosa, a mutant form of some other
species. That's why it is slow-growing. Most of the Bambusas that aren't
variegated or otherwise mutated in some way should grow faster.
Unfortunately I don't have a tropical Bamboo reference, but I think Bambusa
is a fairly good-sized genus. Extremely common in tropical Asia.

Bambusas vary in size. B. polymorpha can hit 90 feet tall, 6 inch diameter
culms. B. arundinacea can get even bigger in its native India. B.
ventricosa is probably one of the shortest.

Bambusas will probably be the easiest to find, and most or perhaps all of
them should adapt to your climate, because it is fairly close to some of
their native climates.

There are others! Now, I dunno if Ft. Lauderdale is "tropical enough" (since
it is not really in the tropics) for all of these, but they are worth
mentioning in case you get "collectoritis" or really want the look of a
big, exotic bamboo. Dendrocalamus species tend to be big ones! Dinochloa is
another big one. They will tend to want equatorial climates, ie, rain just
about every afternoon, and temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s
year-round. I dunno how they adapt to more of a subtropical climate with
some seasonal variation (cooler, drier winters).

One of the most beautiful and unusual-looking is the South American genus
Guadua, generally from equatorial latitudes of Amazonia but also Equador on
the west coast, as far north as southern Mexico and as far south as
southern Brazil. In recent decades these have been used as timber for some
innovative earthquake-resistent buildings in the tropical Andes. Some of
the species should be tolerant of your temperature range. These
unfortunately might be hard to find. You can read about Guaduas in the
excellent reference "American Bamboos" by Emmet J. Judziewicz, Lynn G.
Clark, Ximena Londono, and Margaret Stern. Guaduas tend to have beautiful
deep-green straight culms, that don't taper off quickly, giving a very
architectural appearance. I dunno if these can be had in the USA but the
American Bamboo Society would know who would have them if so, and where
they are already growing.

Atar

orangetrader wrote:

Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning
to add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them
onto the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall,
and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and
very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O

--
Enjoy reading about special plants from interesting parts of the world on my
blog at wildestdreamsofkew.blogspot.com

Hello! The good news is that most tropical bamboos are clumpers. Your
"Buddha's Belly" bamboo is Bambusa ventricosa, a mutant form of some other
species. That's why it is slow-growing. Most of the Bambusas that aren't
variegated or otherwise mutated in some way should grow faster.
Unfortunately I don't have a tropical Bamboo reference, but I think Bambusa
is a fairly good-sized genus. Extremely common in tropical Asia.

Bambusas vary in size. B. polymorpha can hit 90 feet tall, 6 inch diameter
culms. B. arundinacea can get even bigger in its native India. B.
ventricosa is probably one of the shortest.

Bambusas will probably be the easiest to find, and most or perhaps all of
them should adapt to your climate, because it is fairly close to some of
their native climates.

There are others! Now, I dunno if Ft. Lauderdale is "tropical enough" (since
it is not really in the tropics) for all of these, but they are worth
mentioning in case you get "collectoritis" or really want the look of a
big, exotic bamboo. Dendrocalamus species tend to be big ones! Dinochloa is
another big one. They will tend to want equatorial climates, ie, rain just
about every afternoon, and temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s
year-round. I dunno how they adapt to more of a subtropical climate with
some seasonal variation (cooler, drier winters).

One of the most beautiful and unusual-looking is the South American genus
Guadua, generally from equatorial latitudes of Amazonia but also Equador on
the west coast, as far north as southern Mexico and as far south as
southern Brazil. In recent decades these have been used as timber for some
innovative earthquake-resistent buildings in the tropical Andes. Some of
the species should be tolerant of your temperature range. These
unfortunately might be hard to find. You can read about Guaduas in the
excellent reference "American Bamboos" by Emmet J. Judziewicz, Lynn G.
Clark, Ximena Londono, and Margaret Stern. Guaduas tend to have beautiful
deep-green straight culms, that don't taper off quickly, giving a very
architectural appearance. I dunno if these can be had in the USA but the
American Bamboo Society would know who would have them if so, and where
they are already growing.

Atar

orangetrader wrote:

Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning
to add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them
onto the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall,
and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and
very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O

--
Enjoy reading about special plants from interesting parts of the world on my
blog at wildestdreamsofkew.blogspot.com

Hello! The good news is that most tropical bamboos are clumpers. Your
"Buddha's Belly" bamboo is Bambusa ventricosa, a mutant form of some other
species. That's why it is slow-growing. Most of the Bambusas that aren't
variegated or otherwise mutated in some way should grow faster.
Unfortunately I don't have a tropical Bamboo reference, but I think Bambusa
is a fairly good-sized genus. Extremely common in tropical Asia.

Bambusas vary in size. B. polymorpha can hit 90 feet tall, 6 inch diameter
culms. B. arundinacea can get even bigger in its native India. B.
ventricosa is probably one of the shortest.

Bambusas will probably be the easiest to find, and most or perhaps all of
them should adapt to your climate, because it is fairly close to some of
their native climates.

There are others! Now, I dunno if Ft. Lauderdale is "tropical enough" (since
it is not really in the tropics) for all of these, but they are worth
mentioning in case you get "collectoritis" or really want the look of a
big, exotic bamboo. Dendrocalamus species tend to be big ones! Dinochloa is
another big one. They will tend to want equatorial climates, ie, rain just
about every afternoon, and temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s
year-round. I dunno how they adapt to more of a subtropical climate with
some seasonal variation (cooler, drier winters).

One of the most beautiful and unusual-looking is the South American genus
Guadua, generally from equatorial latitudes of Amazonia but also Equador on
the west coast, as far north as southern Mexico and as far south as
southern Brazil. In recent decades these have been used as timber for some
innovative earthquake-resistent buildings in the tropical Andes. Some of
the species should be tolerant of your temperature range. These
unfortunately might be hard to find. You can read about Guaduas in the
excellent reference "American Bamboos" by Emmet J. Judziewicz, Lynn G.
Clark, Ximena Londono, and Margaret Stern. Guaduas tend to have beautiful
deep-green straight culms, that don't taper off quickly, giving a very
architectural appearance. I dunno if these can be had in the USA but the
American Bamboo Society would know who would have them if so, and where
they are already growing.

Atar

orangetrader wrote:

Will be moving into a property with a backyard about half an acre and a
front yard about a quarter acre. Right now, these areas are occupied by
three giant oak trees which cast over the house, and the property is
completely fenced in around the perimeter. Besides the oak trees are just
some palms here and there.

I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning
to add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them
onto the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall,
and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and
very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

Thanks for any comments.

O

--
Enjoy reading about special plants from interesting parts of the world on my
blog at wildestdreamsofkew.blogspot.com

"orangetrader" writes in article dated Sat, 20 Nov 2004 22:19:30 -0500:
I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Your goals of spreading fast but not vigourously running might be
contradictory. Consider a root barrier next to the pond.

I'm planning on adding some bamboo to my backyard for privacy. My lot is on
the corner which puts my back yard in full view of the street and several
other houses. I'm planning on installing a root barrier where the fence
would be and then planting a fast-running variety.

One issue I have is height. I would like to see the street from the
upstairs windows but not from the ground floor. Is there a runner species
which grows to 10' and stops there? What about pruning the tops off of a
taller species, will it kill them?

I'm in zone 7a.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

"orangetrader" writes in article dated Sat, 20 Nov 2004 22:19:30 -0500:
I am looking for ideas on what to do with the backyard. We are planning to
add a pond somewhere, and have always been facinated with the idea of a
large area of bamboos adjacent to a pond. With the oak trees the backyard
is always shaded there is virtually no sunlight and grass do not even grow
in that area except for a patch here and there.

What type of bamboo should we consider if we move forward with this idea?
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Your goals of spreading fast but not vigourously running might be
contradictory. Consider a root barrier next to the pond.

I'm planning on adding some bamboo to my backyard for privacy. My lot is on
the corner which puts my back yard in full view of the street and several
other houses. I'm planning on installing a root barrier where the fence
would be and then planting a fast-running variety.

One issue I have is height. I would like to see the street from the
upstairs windows but not from the ground floor. Is there a runner species
which grows to 10' and stops there? What about pruning the tops off of a
taller species, will it kill them?

I'm in zone 7a.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

Bamboos basically divide into running and clumping varieties (though
I'm sure this is oversimplified). The running varieties are the ones
you see taking over places. My house (in Tallahassee) has a single
large clump of otherwise unidentified bamboo out back. I prune maybe a
couple dozen canes a year; it grows vigorously but spreads slowly.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b

If you're ever farther up in the state, Kanapaha Gardens in Gainesville
has an extensive bamboo garden with many varieties and lots of
information. They also sell some in January and February, dug to order.
See http://www.kanapaha.org. (I grew up a few miles from there.)

Edward

"orangetrader" wrote in message ...

SNIP
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b


There's a nursery on Griffin road a few blocks east of 441 that has a
very nice example of b. vulgaris "wamin" - dwarf buddha belly. Enter
the nursery through the building, then turn left immediately and
follow the path. I think it grows to about 15' and is reputed to be a
fast grower. Wamin is relatively inexpensive, but I haven't checked
price at this nursery. Everything else they sell is retail on
steroids, though.

"orangetrader" wrote in message ...

SNIP
We do not know much about bamboo except I bought two small 36" pots of
Budda's belly bamboo from a local grower for $60 a pot. I planted them onto
the ground in my current resident and they are now about 7 feet tall, and
have spread only about 3 feet in each direction. Very slow growing and very
expensive. If I wish to plant a large area I need some bigger, taller and
faster frowing variety, but I don't want any vigorous runners either. Any
ideas what would be a good choice (if there is one). Saw some beatiful
black bamboo a few years ago too and a single 10" pot was $250.00 -
expensive.

Location - Fort Lauderdale area - zone 10b


There's a nursery on Griffin road a few blocks east of 441 that has a
very nice example of b. vulgaris "wamin" - dwarf buddha belly. Enter
the nursery through the building, then turn left immediately and
follow the path. I think it grows to about 15' and is reputed to be a
fast grower. Wamin is relatively inexpensive, but I haven't checked
price at this nursery. Everything else they sell is retail on
steroids, though.