Black Bamboo broke the buried plastic pot

9 years ago

We wanted to keep our black bamboo contained, so we purchased a heavy plastic container about 3 feet in diameter. Drilled a few drainage holes in the bottom, buried it, and planed the black bamboo inside. That was five or more years ago. We are getting to be lazy gardeners because of age/disabilities. This year, we discovered bamboo shoots OUTSIDE of the container. Dug up the whole thing and found that the bamboo had split it in four places. Any recommendations for a container that will survive the winters (and the bamboo)? Thanks.

After reading some of the threads, I am realizing we were lucky that it took so long to burst out of the container. The bamboo does look lovely, but we have a small yard and just wanted it as an accent, not a privacy screen or anything like that. FYI, we had it on the SE corner of the house.

Comments (5)

grubby_AZ Tucson Z9
9 years ago
The absolute toughest container I can think of are muck buckets from a farm store, the sort made with a whole slew of nylon fibers
User
9 years ago
I am betting on the running bamboo to break out of any man-made container...eventually. That's why i converted to clump growing species ONLY!
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sherwoodva
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the responses. We have decided to research the clump growing species and buy one in the spring.
User
9 years ago
Fargesias are generally the clumpers most often grown in Zone 6-7ish climates. (I went with the species F. rufa, aka., Green Panda.) But they are do appreciate some shading from the hottest sun so are not ideal for all sites with hot summers. They can be a bit costly too at first. But if you
divide the clumps every season, you will get a dense grove 8-10 feet tall in several years if conditions are to its liking.
kevlar68
9 years ago
When you say "dug the whole thing up"; is the bamboo still viable or did you destroy it? Running bamboos are not that hard to keep contained if you have a (semi-)defined area. In your case, if it is still where you had it; dig a ~1' deep trench around and back fill with sand or mulch, something easy to dig through by hand. Then spend a relaxing afternoon every couple of months (it's a 2 beer job for me) finding the runners and pulling them up by hand; they'll only be ~1ft long in that time. Even if one "escapes" you'll find it by shoots before it has a chance to branch and become entrenched.

Best wishes!