|
using bamboo as privacy hedging?
I need to screen off a farmyard from the house and as there seems to be no known fast growing hedge that grows no more than 4/5 metres high I am looking at the idea of bamboo.
Can anyone suggest a fast growing well spreading bamboo suitable for peaty soils? Thanks, sara. |
On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 11:36:36 +0000, sarasara
wrote: I need to screen off a farmyard from the house and as there seems to be no known fast growing hedge that grows no more than 4/5 metres high I am looking at the idea of bamboo. Can anyone suggest a fast growing well spreading bamboo suitable for peaty soils? Thanks, sara. Seems like a good idea in principle, except that I would have thought what you _don't_ want is one that spreads, as they can be invasive and a real problem. Phyllostachys aurea (or indeed any species of Phyllostachys) is recommended for hedging. OTOH if you mean 'spreading' as in 'bushy', then think about Fargesia murielae or F. nitida, the latter being slightly more upright. How fast they grow, I don't know. A problem I foresee is that bamboos aren't cheap to buy (P. aurea at £13 and F. murielae at £11 each at my local nursery), so a whole hedge could work out expensive. There are a number of moderately tall, fairly fast growing shrubs that are used for hedging (e.g. Olearia traversii, Eleagnus ebbingei, Escallonia species) that get to the sort of height you want, but they're not fully hardy so it depends where you are. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
"Chris Hogg" wrote in message ... On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 11:36:36 +0000, sarasara wrote: I need to screen off a farmyard from the house and as there seems to be no known fast growing hedge that grows no more than 4/5 metres high I am looking at the idea of bamboo. Can anyone suggest a fast growing well spreading bamboo suitable for peaty soils? Thanks, sara. Seems like a good idea in principle, except that I would have thought what you _don't_ want is one that spreads, as they can be invasive and a real problem. Phyllostachys aurea (or indeed any species of Phyllostachys) is recommended for hedging. OTOH if you mean 'spreading' as in 'bushy', then think about Fargesia murielae or F. nitida, the latter being slightly more upright. How fast they grow, I don't know. A problem I foresee is that bamboos aren't cheap to buy (P. aurea at £13 and F. murielae at £11 each at my local nursery), so a whole hedge could work out expensive. There are a number of moderately tall, fairly fast growing shrubs that are used for hedging (e.g. Olearia traversii, Eleagnus ebbingei, Escallonia species) that get to the sort of height you want, but they're not fully hardy so it depends where you are. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net Bamboos are often cheaper than that depends on the nursery and the area and if spreading is not a problem then they do indeed provide a good screen but they tend to take about 5 yrs to get going I have found that Mock Orange /Philadelphus is one of the fastest growing shrubs which provides good shelter even in winter Pyracantha is good but not as fast It maybe better to think of erecting a net on tall poles and growing nasturtians , honeysuckles , clematis armandii, clematis montana up the net in the interim while the various shrubs get going |
Bamboos are often cheaper than that depends on the nursery and the area and
if spreading is not a problem then they do indeed provide a good screen but they tend to take about 5 yrs to get going Not sure the one I have but planted a couple of years ago, supposedly grows to 4m high. First year was some growth but not much and I thought I would have problems but so far this year loads of new growth which might take it to 1.5m which is still fairly slow from what I get as the desired use in this case. kev |
Thanks Chris for a very comprehesive answer. Where I live is northern ireland which is damp with long winters and in a peaty area. So I had rather discounted shrubs, through infront of any hedging some rhodendrum would be introduced which eventually would grow up to do the job.
I have heard that you need to put down a vertical strip of heavy plastic lining to keep the bamboos from spreading, though my childhood memories of bamboo were that they were very easy to cut back and the ones cut down were useful for the garden. I have since discovered a suppliers website in the uk and they have the variety you suggested and two others listed as good hedging bamboos, so just awaiting a quote. Sure you are right about the cost so I propose to start with just one plant and subdivide new shoots to replant further along until the whole area is covered.....make take a couple of years! Regards, Sara. |
On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 11:36:36 +0000, sarasara wrote: I need to screen off a farmyard from the house and as there seems to be no known fast growing hedge that grows no more than 4/5 metres high I am looking at the idea of bamboo. Can anyone suggest a fast growing well spreading bamboo suitable for peaty soils? Thanks, sara. You might try Yushania Anceps (Arundinaria anceps). The jungle garden at Burton Agnes, Driffield, E.Yorks has a very impressive and impenetrable bamboo hedge round it of this species. Its probably about 4 metres high, but it doesn't look as if they grew it in a year. Bamboos seem generally tolerant of most soil types. John McMillan |
sarasara wrote:
Chris Hogg Wrote: On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 11:36:36 +0000, sarasara wrote: - I need to screen off a farmyard from the house and as there seems to be no known fast growing hedge that grows no more than 4/5 metres high I am looking at the idea of bamboo. Can anyone suggest a fast growing well spreading bamboo suitable for peaty soils? Thanks, sara.- Seems like a good idea in principle, except that I would have thought what you _don't_ want is one that spreads, as they can be invasive and a real problem. Phyllostachys aurea (or indeed any species of Phyllostachys) is recommended for hedging. [...] There are a number of moderately tall, fairly fast growing shrubs that are used for hedging (e.g. Olearia traversii, Eleagnus ebbingei, Escallonia species) that get to the sort of height you want, but they're not fully hardy so it depends where you are. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]netThanks Chris for a very comprehesive answer. Where I live is northern ireland which is damp with long winters and in a peaty area. So I had rather discounted shrubs, through infront of any hedging some rhodendrum would be introduced which eventually would grow up to do the job. Escallonias do well in many parts of N. Ireland. I have heard that you need to put down a vertical strip of heavy plastic lining to keep the bamboos from spreading, though my childhood memories of bamboo were that they were very easy to cut back and the ones cut down were useful for the garden. Some bamboos will penetrate even tough plastic sheeting if they want to. I have since discovered a suppliers website in the uk and they have the variety you suggested and two others listed as good hedging bamboos, so just awaiting a quote. Sure you are right about the cost so I propose to start with just one plant and subdivide new shoots to replant further along until the whole area is covered.....make take a couple of years! Regards, Sara. If bamboo is what your design needs, great. But if it's just because you're looking for something to do the job, had you thought about what would be in keeping with a farming area? I don't know your situation, but in some places they look very much out of place. Perhaps a more traditional, and cheaper and probably quicker, mixed deciduous hedge (hawthorn, blackthorn, a few elders, maybe a damson or three) would suit you better, and you'd get flowers in due season. What's growing well in the local hedges? -- Mike. |
Janet Baraclough wrote:
I've deleted the post where someone suggested phyllostachys as a hedging plant. I'm not sure that's a good idea :-) Two years ago I planted a single plant of p aureocaulis from a 6" pot, thinking it's a clumpforming one. Last year, it put up a couple of modest little culms close to the originals. Yesterday, I was weeding that bed and looked around for signs of new ones coming up in the same spot..no sign. Then I became aware of something jabbing my bum, and found I was squatting on top of a 20 " spear about 18 inches away from the original plant. Then I spotted loads more spears, coming up in a ring around the mother plant with a diameter of nearly three feet. Talk about not seeing the wood for the trees. I'm revising my notion of "clump". Fortunately the bamboo is planted in a walled raised bed so for the momnet it's still contained. The stone walls are about 1 ft higher than the surrounding lawn. Will this be deep enough to restrict the bamboo's roots, or will they dive underneath it? in a 5m*4m area I removed 30m of runner from a single plant of the Golden Bamboo last summer. British books have it down as clump forming, American hot climate books have it down as a notorious runner! pk |
On Tue, 7 Jun 2005 13:33:54 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote: I've deleted the post where someone suggested phyllostachys as a hedging plant. I'm not sure that's a good idea :-) Two years ago I planted a single plant of p aureocaulis from a 6" pot, thinking it's a clumpforming one. Last year, it put up a couple of modest little culms close to the originals. Yesterday, I was weeding that bed and looked around for signs of new ones coming up in the same spot..no sign. Then I became aware of something jabbing my bum, and found I was squatting on top of a 20 " spear about 18 inches away from the original plant. Then I spotted loads more spears, coming up in a ring around the mother plant with a diameter of nearly three feet. Talk about not seeing the wood for the trees. I'm revising my notion of "clump". Fortunately the bamboo is planted in a walled raised bed so for the momnet it's still contained. The stone walls are about 1 ft higher than the surrounding lawn. Will this be deep enough to restrict the bamboo's roots, or will they dive underneath it? My suggestion. My local nursery describes it as 'non invasive' and 'the best bamboo for hedging', and a book I have on ornamental grasses says it runs in warm climates, but much less so and manageably in cool ones. But 'warm' and 'cool' aren't defined. Perhaps the UK is getting warmer! -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:11 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter