Bamboo again (in Edinburgh)
Hello all,
I've trawled through the archives and seen the usual scare stories about and defenses of bamboo... and I'm still interested in planting some. We have just moved into a ground-floor flat in Edinburgh which has one of those little strips of garden between the house and street, about 8 feet by 30. It was dug over just before we moved in in December 06 and currently is a mass of weeds. I am interested in planting some bamboo along the street side as a privacy screen and because I think it's a lovely plant. I had a couple of questions (and note I have never owned a garden before and know nothing about them!): - this is pretty much a north-facing side of the house and so I suppose I'd need to look at shade-resistant varieties. Also, although Edinburgh doesn't get the drenching that the west coast of Scotland gets, it certainly gets cold and it's frequently windy. I'm not certain whether to worry about clumping vs. running since in Scotland's low temperatures running may not be too much of a problem. I'd think about putting in a barrier for a runner anyway. Can anyone recommend any varieties? I only ever seem to see 'Golden Bamboo' in the garden centres. - Speaking of barriers, if I understand it correctly, this is a strip of plastic sheeting dug vertically into the ground around the proposed bamboo area to stop the runners. Have I got the right idea? Would I need this on the street side of the bamboo? I'm guessing not because it would just hit the foundations of the footpath. - I'd also like to plant grass over the remaining soil (once I have dug it over etc - a project in itself!) After that, could I just transfer potted bamboos into the soil and then sow grass around them or are the bamboos likely to be better off in their own beds? - I'm totally open to suggestions for other nice climbers or tall- growing plants that I could use alongside or instead of bamboo in this sort of cool, shady position, either flowering or not. Thanks a lot, cam |
Bamboo again (in Edinburgh)
"edhead" wrote in message oups.com... Hello all, I've trawled through the archives and seen the usual scare stories about and defenses of bamboo... and I'm still interested in planting some. We have just moved into a ground-floor flat in Edinburgh which has one of those little strips of garden between the house and street, about 8 feet by 30. It was dug over just before we moved in in December 06 and currently is a mass of weeds. I am interested in planting some bamboo along the street side as a privacy screen and because I think it's a lovely plant. I had a couple of questions (and note I have never owned a garden before and know nothing about them!): - this is pretty much a north-facing side of the house and so I suppose I'd need to look at shade-resistant varieties. Also, although Edinburgh doesn't get the drenching that the west coast of Scotland gets, it certainly gets cold and it's frequently windy. I'm not certain whether to worry about clumping vs. running since in Scotland's low temperatures running may not be too much of a problem. I'd think about putting in a barrier for a runner anyway. Can anyone recommend any varieties? I only ever seem to see 'Golden Bamboo' in the garden centres. - Speaking of barriers, if I understand it correctly, this is a strip of plastic sheeting dug vertically into the ground around the proposed bamboo area to stop the runners. Have I got the right idea? Would I need this on the street side of the bamboo? I'm guessing not because it would just hit the foundations of the footpath. - I'd also like to plant grass over the remaining soil (once I have dug it over etc - a project in itself!) After that, could I just transfer potted bamboos into the soil and then sow grass around them or are the bamboos likely to be better off in their own beds? - I'm totally open to suggestions for other nice climbers or tall- growing plants that I could use alongside or instead of bamboo in this sort of cool, shady position, either flowering or not. Thanks a lot, cam Bamboo will certainly do the job you want it too, the Phyllostachs sorts have some nice coloured stem forms (Culms) black gold, green and some with stripes on them. As to barriers, I have seen them go through half each purpose laid rubber barrier so plastic is not going to do the job! having said that, its not really that much of a problem and each year when the new stems start coming up just look for those going in a direction you do not want, and use a spade and lump hammer to slice through the underground roots or an old saw. I have just a few Bamboos in the garden and find on my shallow soil the do the job of a small evergreen tree (which I then grow clematis into) -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and Lapageria rosea |
Bamboo again (in Edinburgh)
In article .com,
edhead wrote: Hello all, I've trawled through the archives and seen the usual scare stories about and defenses of bamboo... and I'm still interested in planting some. We have just moved into a ground-floor flat in Edinburgh which has one of those little strips of garden between the house and street, about 8 feet by 30. It was dug over just before we moved in in December 06 and currently is a mass of weeds. I am interested in planting some bamboo along the street side as a privacy screen and because I think it's a lovely plant. I had a couple of questions (and note I have never owned a garden before and know nothing about them!): - this is pretty much a north-facing side of the house and so I suppose I'd need to look at shade-resistant varieties. Also, although Edinburgh doesn't get the drenching that the west coast of Scotland gets, it certainly gets cold and it's frequently windy. I'm not certain whether to worry about clumping vs. running since in Scotland's low temperatures running may not be too much of a problem. I'd think about putting in a barrier for a runner anyway. Can anyone recommend any varieties? I only ever seem to see 'Golden Bamboo' in the garden centres. - Speaking of barriers, if I understand it correctly, this is a strip of plastic sheeting dug vertically into the ground around the proposed bamboo area to stop the runners. Have I got the right idea? Would I need this on the street side of the bamboo? I'm guessing not because it would just hit the foundations of the footpath. - I'd also like to plant grass over the remaining soil (once I have dug it over etc - a project in itself!) After that, could I just transfer potted bamboos into the soil and then sow grass around them or are the bamboos likely to be better off in their own beds? - I'm totally open to suggestions for other nice climbers or tall- growing plants that I could use alongside or instead of bamboo in this sort of cool, shady position, either flowering or not. Thanks a lot, cam Scottish Bamboo Nursery Middlemuir Farm, Craigievar, Alford, Aberdeenshire, AB33 8JS; tel: (019755) 81316; fax: (019755) 81411. Some 87 species and varieties offered, all hardy in Scotland. A considerable distance north of Edinburgh. While it seems to have had a website it isn't working today. |
Bamboo again (in Edinburgh)
"edhead" wrote in message oups.com... Hello all, I've trawled through the archives and seen the usual scare stories about and defenses of bamboo... and I'm still interested in planting some. snip Speaking of barriers, if I understand it correctly, this is a strip of plastic sheeting dug vertically into the ground around the proposed bamboo area to stop the runners. I'd only ever plant it in a pot above ground where it can be kept an eye on. We had some in the front garden of our last house. Never again. It sent runners 12 meters along a bed and under a 1 meter wide path. The path was edged both sides with a wall of railway sleepers and the runners must have gone down quite a way to get under them. I can't imagine a bit of plastic would stop it for long. We had the lot dug out profesionally and I watched them do it. It came right back - only this time spread over the wider area that had been dug over. It came up through other ground cover plants which made it next to impossible to kill off with weed killer. |
Quote:
In British conditions, especially areas like yours, quite a few of the Phyllostachys family don't wander very much at all. Though this is not uniformly true, some are quite aggressive. You need to research this carefully, since many sellers will deny that this could be possible. It doesn't help that gardening programmes on the BBC regularly refer to the whole Phyllostachys family as "clumpers", which just isn't true. As it happens, P aurea (golden bamboo) is one of the best behaved, though you will have to choose an uncommon variety like Holochrysa or Koi to actually get golden culms. P aureosulcata has lots of lovely varieties - spectabilis, aureocaulis, Harbin inversa, etc, and they grow very well in E Scotland, but they are more wandering. True P nigra from a good provenance is generally very well-behaved, though varieties such as henon and boryana are not (and they aren't black either). But the P's mostly need sunshine to thrive and bring out their culm colours, so perhaps not so suitable for your precise conditions. You do have to go to specialist suppliers to get nice bamboos, and they are not necessarily more expensive that way, indeed they can be cheaper. |
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