katiejohnson

Our back garden is overlooked in places and I was thinking of planting some bamboo leaves as a screen cover.

I know bamboo is fast-growing, but are there any particular types that gain height and bush out quickly?

Also, is it best to plant in large planters or straight into the ground?

AaronTT

First things first, where do you live? That will make a proper determination as to which species will work best.

Yes, many varieties can produce a good screen pretty fast.

Most of the time its best to plant directly in the ground.

katiejohnson

Sorry... I am living in United Kingdom/Wokingham...

AaronTT

Your in a area that can definitely grow bamboo, but are a bit limited. I think a Fargesia type is best for your climate, although others would well work too. Take a look at Fargesia Robusta Campbell. That should not only grow well in your climate, but grow fast too. Also, research other Fargesia varieties, as well as Chusquea, Thamnocalamus and Borinda.
One of my favorite bamboos you can grow because of your climate. I wish I could grow this.

sirdoofus

What climate zone, USDA equivalent, are you in?

I agree with AaronTT, in my opinion spot on advice. All the bamboo he recommends are clumping varieties so won't run away on you.

The biggest downside for most people with clumpers is you have to put more plants in to get an effective screen. Depending on how long you want to wait, you could divide the plant over the ensuing years and replant the divisions down the line, so you don't have to buy lots of plants up front; but then you won't have a full screen for a few years.

Fargesia and the hardier Chusqueas can make nice screens fairly rapidly, depending on how many plants you feel like buying. I am assuming in the UK you don't get a huge amount of hot sun for extended periods? Then most Fargesias will do quite well. If lots of sun, like he mentions robusta would be a great choice and in my experience gets the tallest of the genus. Campbell cultivar is nice for screening because it is upright (some 'fountain' quite a bit so take up more space laterally) and gets fairly tall, 12-15' around here.

Chusquea culeo (various cultivars) and Thamnocalamus tessalatus are relatively hardy and do well in full sun.

Most of the other Chusqueas, with the exception of gigantea (its big and an aggressive spreader) are mostly warm climate plants.

The other Thamnocalamus species and most of the Borinda genus might be marginal in your area for hardiness depending, so make sure to double check. And they don't like a lot of sun, which may be fine for you. There are some exceedingly beautiful species in both genera however.

One other genus to consider would be Yushania. They tend to be 'open clumpers' meaning they mostly clump, somewhat loosely, relative to fargesia for example, but will send the odd rhizome out a bit farther to create another clump nearby. This of course means they might spread more than you wold want them to, but worth consideration as they can be quite pretty.

Then there are the "running" bamboos if want to really open up your options, which can get a lot bigger and can fill a long space with one plant fairly quickly. The downside of course is you have to manage their spread. If not careful, they can become a major headache. That said, controlling spread is a fairly simple process as there are several effective ways to do it with some diligent routine maintenance. But for most folks the clumpers are the way to go.

Check out Bamboogarden.com - its one of the better websites for all information bamboo. The nursery is in Oregon, but the educational information is relevant.

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sirdoofus

Looks like B. albocerea? or H. hookerianus? Gorgeous!!

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AaronTT

H. hookerianus 'Teagues Blue'
Yes this is an incredibly beautiful bamboo.

sirdoofus

Yeah I wish I could grow it too, if I could find it here I might give it a shot.

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katiejohnson

Thank you for your advice... I will try Fargesia...

AaronTT

Good luck, and hope you find them.

AaronTT

It might be worth growing in a large pot. You have a better chance than I do. I already tried, having secured a nice specimen directly from one of the main sources. It did great when I picked it up and planted it in the "winter". Then once our high heat and humidity kicked in late spring, it just kept declining.

sirdoofus

Oh, sorry to hear that. That must have been disappointing.

I appreciate the suggestion, and it could be worth it for something like that, however I have never really been a huge fan of potted bamboo. I have found they generally require a lot of attention and they never really look as good as I hope. But again, if I came across something like that here, I would snap it up and try to work something out.

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Snarkie

Hey, that stuff is right purdy. Can you point me in the general direction of where I might be able to procure some?

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AaronTT

Check out west county oasis bamboo. It seems its harder to get than when I tried.

sirdoofus

If you are willing to pay for shipping you might check in with these guys....and you will probably have to call them as this bamboo isn't, at least it didn't used to be, a common one....so may not listed on websites for sale. Often nurseries will keep small numbers of collector's specimens for sale to the discerning bamboo enthusiast.

bamboogarden.com - if they don't have it, they might be able to help direct you to someone who does. I used to work with these guys (over a decade ago) and at that time they did have a lot of stuff that wasn't readily available elsewhere.

https://www.yellowpages.com/west-lin...arden-10747080

https://bamboovalley.com/

Don't know if the last 2 are still in business....its been a few years

You'll notice the PNW theme

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Snarkie

Well, if nothing else, it sounds expensive, LOL. I will try those links and advice; thanks!

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Snarkie

Couldn't find plants anywhere, but did see a few seed sources for various types of blue bamboos, including some giant stuff. Of course, none of them have the Latin names, but this one looks similar. Think this is it?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1021582...cbe7d4857b2695

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sirdoofus

Hard to tell. One pic doesn't say much and my eye for bamboo ID definitely isn't what it used to be. What I don't seem to see in that pic are older culms. I would expect to see golden/yellow older culms as well as the newer bluish ones. What tends to make the newer culms that color on bamboo in general is the sort of waxy, powdery coating that usually dissipates over time (lots of bamboo varieties display this characteristic to varying degrees). It looks to me that all of the culms in that pic seem to still have that. Having said that, it looks like there are culms in the mix both with and without sheaths, implying different ages. Its possible the older yellow culms were cut out and therefore aren't in the pic, or someone got creative with photoshop, or it is a different bamboo. Regardless, it is a nice looking plant and I am sure would make a fine specimen if the seeds are true and it will tolerate your climate.

p.s. I did find one PDF on H. hookerianus flowering (therefore seeds) in the UK

http://www.bamboo-identification.co.uk/hookerianus.pdf

but not sure of the date. Usually if there is a flowering of a desirable bamboo recently, its pretty easy to find lots of chatter on the subject

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Arachnotron

That could be Bambusa chungii.

Snarkie

If the information is correct on this, the chungii isn't that cold tolerant. It's another one I was looking at, until I saw that one bad winter here would kill it off. For the price, I may just try this and see what happens. Thanks for the input!

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