Bamboo?

[Kate]

Hey all--

I just introduced myself in the thread at the top. But if you didn't see it, my boyfriend and I just moved from an apartment to a house with a beautiful large backyard. We both are itching to try our hand at gardening, but our first landscaping idea is more functional than aesthetic.

Our neighbors behind us are building onto their house and they are building a second story that will overlook our private backyard! Now, they have every right to build whatever the heck they want on their land as long as they have a permit (which I'm sure they do, because it looks like they have spent over $100k on the work they are doing). But that doesn't change the fact that my boyfriend and I REALLY want the backyard to be private.

At first, we thought about needing to plant trees along our fence, so it would cover any windows they could look out of. But then we realized that trees don't grow fast enough. This is a HUGE two story building (at least 30 feet high). Then, someone suggested that we grow bamboo because it's cheaper than trees and it's very fast growing. I wanted to ask some advice from you guys.

Do any of you know how fast bamboo actually grows? I have read stuff that says it grows a foot a day, and that seems too good to be true. Also, how high does it grow? Like I said, it needs to be AT LEAST 30 feet (eventually). How dense does it grow? How does it grow in Southern California? (We are in Los Angeles). How does one purchase bamboo? Do you have to buy seeds? Or can you buy already grown plants?

I'm assuming all of these questions depend on the variety of bamboo you get. If ANYONE can help us out, we would REALLY appreciate it!

Like I said, we are brand new to gardening, but hopefully you will see me more on the forum and hopefully I will be more experienced eventually and I will be able to pass knowledge you guys give to me on to some other new gardener! Thanks so much!!!

Kate

 

[Chuck]

I don't know a lot about bamboo but I do know a little. There are two types: clumping and spreading. I don't know where you are located but a lot of places have restrictions on the planting of bamboo, mainly the spreading type. It is arguably the most invasive plant there is and is almost impossible to eradicate once it takes off. I does grow fast ONCE ESTABLISHED although the foot a day only happens in monsoon season in the tropics (and in the movies). Even if you plant clumping bamboo, you will have to plant a bunch of clumps and to reach 30 feet it will take a long time, plus it isn't cheap either.

 

[Becky]

Chuck makes some very good points!

Do you have any photos of the area? If you were to put something large at the far end, which direction would that be facing? It may not be necessary to plant something that will grow to be the same height as their house - for example you could create a seating area that is hidden from view. Also something that large would likely create a lot of shade - either for you or them - are there any restrictions on doing that? I know there would be in the UK but I don't know about California I'm afraid!

Maybe a shaded pergola would help? You could grow things up and over it - which would be both practical and a lovely feature!

 

[gata montes]

Hi Kate and welcome to the forum.

Its difficult to know where to start - as having myself grown many,many different types of bamboo and for many years too - I would strongly recommend that you gain as much knowledge and understanding of what you are dealing with before even contemplating growing it.

Especially as Bamboo is a fairly specialized and somewhat complex subject - as not only is it unique to other plants in that the main components of a bamboo consist of rhizomes, roots, culms, branches and leaves - it grows in an entirely different way to other plants too - in fact The Bamboo Organization would be a site that I would highly recommend - as they cover just about everything you could wish to know about Bamboo.

As Chuck has already mentioned there are two types of Bamboo in terms of root system " Clumping " which has a rhizome system known as " pachymorph " and " Running " which has a rhizome system known as " leptomorph " - the latter of which is the most invasive and best avoided altogether - as once that gets going there really is no way of stopping it.

However although there are many, many different varieties of clumping bamboo with some species being less invasive than others - any of the " Phyllostachys or Fargesia " varieties would suit your purpose - particularly as not only do they have extremely attractive canes in a variety of colors - but grow into a beautiful shape too.

I would however just add - that although clumping bamboo is less invasive than running bamboo - it does spread and therefore regardless of what anyone says - if grown in a suburban area it is best grown with a 2 - 3 ft underground barrier to stop it from spreading - it will also need to have the underground rhizomes cut back at least once or twice a year - in order to keep it in check and stop it from encroaching into neighboring gardens.

Yes Bamboo does grow extremely rapidly and although it depends on the variety grown as well as the climate - there are many varieties that will grow from between 1 to 5 ft a day and more in a hot climate - but that said - the two species I have mentioned will generally grow from anything between 5 - 10 ft per year once established - more if grown in a warm climate.

Nearly forgot - Bamboo is generally bought as a clump and not started from seed.

 

[Kate]

Thanks for your answers, guys. I really appreciate it! It has certainly given me a lot to research and think about!