Save valuable garden space by using quick-growing clumping bamboo to screen a view or provide shade.
By Adam Woodhams
As house blocks become smaller and garden areas follow suit, many of the things that were taken for granted, such as shade and privacy, become harder to add.
You can build a privacy screen, but this won’t work in cases where a neighbouring two-storey house overlooks a yard or swimming pool.
The logical choice is to plant trees or shrubs to create the desired effect, but even with advanced plants, it can take years to get the screening needed.
You’ll also be faced with a lifetime of pruning to keep the screen dense and, in most cases, will have plants that take up too much garden space.
The solution is simple.
Plant clumping or ‘escape-proof’ bamboo.
Bamboo types
Adam Woodhams
Bamboo is a grass, albeit a very big grass, and like lawn grasses, there are two groups, clumping and running.
Clumping bamboos develop side shoots, or culms, close to the heart of the original plant. They have shallow roots and shoot back over themselves as they age, keeping the clump dense.
Propagation is hard and involves taking divisions from the central clump. It is these characteristics that give it the name ‘escape-proof’ bamboo.
Running varieties of bamboo send out underground stems, or runners, from which culms pop up.
These can run under fences, paths and driveways, and the culms can punch through asphalt, dislodge pavers and even damage thin concrete.
Running varieties regrow quickly from even a small root section.
It is the aggressive and invasive behaviour of this group of bamboos that has given all bamboos a bad name.
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Screen or hedge?
Adam Woodhams
These are often used interchangeably, but they are actually quite different.
Hedge
This generally uses the same species or variety of plants that have been selected for their density, ability to grow together and pruning tolerance.
Most hedging varieties are kept well pruned and provide a very dense, if not complete, screen.
They are ideal for situations that require a high level of privacy.
Screen
This uses the same species or a mix of similar varieties that will interweave as they grow, providing partial screening that still lets in light and allows views through.
It is best used to soften a harsh view or to filter western sun.
Buying bamboo
Adam Woodhams
There are a couple of points to consider when buying potted clumping bamboo.
The first is cost. For a range of reasons, it can be much more expensive than other shrubs in comparable pot sizes.
A murraya for hedging in a 20cm pot will cost less than $20, while a clumping bamboo in the same pot size will likely cost from $30 to $40.
The biggest difference is that in five years, the murraya will just be thickening into a 1-1.5m hedge while the bamboo will be well established at its maximum height and density.
The other consideration is that clumping bamboos don’t look good in pots.
Being vigorous, they get hungry and thirsty, so the stock in nurseries may look spindly and sparse.
But don’t be put off. Once in the ground, they will send out shoots in just a month.
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As house blocks become smaller and garden areas follow suit, many of the things that were taken for granted, such as shade and privacy, become harder to add.
You can build a privacy screen, but this won’t work in cases where a neighbouring two-storey house overlooks a yard or swimming pool.
The logical choice is to plant trees or shrubs to create the desired effect, but even with advanced plants, it can take years to get the screening needed.
You’ll also be faced with a lifetime of pruning to keep the screen dense and, in most cases, will have plants that take up too much garden space.
The solution is simple.
Plant clumping or ‘escape-proof’ bamboo.
Benefits of clumping bamboo
Alamy
There are a multitude of reasons why clumping bamboo is the best choice.
Size
Screening or hedging shrubs or trees are often loosely described in height and width, and their size will then vary with location or climate.
Bamboo is very neat. So for a 3m screen, buy a 3m variety, and if you want a 10m screen, get a 10m variety.
Speed
While shrubs or trees can take about 10 years or more to reach their described size, clumping bamboo will form a screen in under two years.
Maintenance
Clumping bamboo is very hardy once established.
Apart from reliable water, it just needs to be fed once or twice a year.
A premium slow-release lawn fertiliser, such as Scotts Lawn Builder, is ideal. The only pruning required is to remove older shoots. It’s even self-mulching.
Coverage
Foliage density ranges from as thick as a hedge to light and open. Some varieties hold solid foliage from top to bottom, while others have bare stems for the first metre or so, making them ideal for underplanting.
Climate
While bamboo is generally thought of as being a subtropical or tropical group of plants, there are species that will grow in cold, even freezing, conditions of -10°C or less.
Plant a bamboo hedge
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The temptation is to just dig individual planting holes, but the tip from the pros is to cultivate a strip along the entire length you intend to plant.
This allows for faster root development and more consistent water penetration.
Prepare the area
Adam Woodham
Spray with an organically certified, non-residual weedkiller two weeks before planting, then clear the area.
For long areas, you can hire a rotary hoe to remove waste and turn the soil.
For smaller areas, use a hoe or mattock.
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As house blocks become smaller and garden areas follow suit, many of the things that were taken for granted, such as shade and privacy, become harder to add.
You can build a privacy screen, but this won’t work in cases where a neighbouring two-storey house overlooks a yard or swimming pool.
The logical choice is to plant trees or shrubs to create the desired effect, but even with advanced plants, it can take years to get the screening needed.
You’ll also be faced with a lifetime of pruning to keep the screen dense and, in most cases, will have plants that take up too much garden space.
The solution is simple.
Plant clumping or ‘escape-proof’ bamboo.
Improve the soil
Adam Woodhams
Blend through weed-free compost or well-composted manure. This feeds the plants for a short time, improves soil quality and moisture retention and boosts soil biological activity. Also add a premium slow-release fertiliser.
Measure planting holes
Adam Woodhams
Starting from one end, open up planting holes twice the size of the pot. To keep the spacing accurate, use a 1.2m spirit level or a tape measure. Tip: Set up a stringline or measure from a fence to keep the planting straight.
Add the plants
Adam Woodhams
Position a plant in the hole and create a raised water dish, like a dam wall. Continue planting the plants, then water in well, filling up the water dish before moving on to the next. Repeat the watering process for all the plants.
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As house blocks become smaller and garden areas follow suit, many of the things that were taken for granted, such as shade and privacy, become harder to add.
You can build a privacy screen, but this won’t work in cases where a neighbouring two-storey house overlooks a yard or swimming pool.
The logical choice is to plant trees or shrubs to create the desired effect, but even with advanced plants, it can take years to get the screening needed.
You’ll also be faced with a lifetime of pruning to keep the screen dense and, in most cases, will have plants that take up too much garden space.
The solution is simple.
Plant clumping or ‘escape-proof’ bamboo.
Apply mulch
Adam Woodhams
Add a layer of mulch at least 50mm thick around the plants and water well.
Keep the hedge well watered and new shoots should appear in about four weeks.
Tip: Lay out a soaker hose and run it on a timer to make watering easier.
