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Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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Posted by
gbirds (
My Page) on
Wed, Jun 18, 08 at 11:26
| I've been dizzied by the info in the bamboo forum, and so much of it relates to other zones and climates. I'm looking for a nice, tall clumping bamboo that will take full sun for a spot in my big yard. Anyone in NC, preferably around the Triad area, having success with a particular bamboo? I'd love some recommendations! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| I have 3 Fargesia ...food of the pandas. Umbrella shape, 6 ft tall at maturity. It was planted last spring before the drought. Did well. The goldfinch love to perch on it. Deer don't eat it. Evergreen. Drops leaves before new growth, but not a problem. I'm not a bamboo collector. I just needed the foliage/shape for my garden. I am thinking of taking one out of the ground to transplant into a large pot before it gets too settled in. |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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gbirds,
I fell for the hype on the web and from a landscape architect who helped us with the 2 acres around our former place in Charlotte. We put in two areas of "clumping, non-invasive" bamboos. After 4 years, the yard was being taken over by bamboo. FYI: Both kinds were planted inside large, deep, plastic pipes (like sewer pipes). The bamboo grew up and over the pipes. I couldn't see what was going on under there. Getting to it to cut the escapees was very unpleasant. We tried to "contain" the stuff in limited areas, but it crept and took over. So, after 8 yrs of battle, we began using glyphosate on the roots we cut. I am aware of one situation in the Piedmont where a smart gardener poured concrete containment before installing bamboo for a long privacy hedge. It's working. |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| splitzones- there are ways to control running boo, esp if you know up front that that's what you have. Your issue was the landscape architect who installed running boo instead of clumping boo. Maybe he was misled, too, but if he was putting in some sort of a barrier from the get go it makes me think he knew & was misrepresenting. Clumping boo doesn't run. When installing a barrier it really helps to leave it a few inches above the ground level so you can see those runners taking off & nip them early on. |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| bamboo grows rampant here in the Concord/Charlotte area. Huge stands of it alongside the back roads. People all over C/L post ads for people to come cut it down if they want their own for free, only leading to further the issue. I personally love the look of it but would never grow it for fear it would take over eventually. Lyle |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| Lyle, if they're cutting it to use in the garden there's no danger whatsoever. It cannot grow from a cut culm. In fact, it's amazing how easy it is to kill new culms- if you kick over the new culms before they harden, they're dead. As aggressive as it is in the ground it's actually kind of hard to get the right part moved to get it going. Most of what you see in the 'wild' running about is phyllostachys aurea or golden bamboo. Golden boo has some canes that have very interesting compressed and/or crooked lower joints, which means you can make really pretty stuff with it. The canes turn a very pretty gold in the sun. Running boos make the best garden stakes & trellises- very light, strong and durable if older canes are cut. There is a native boo, but it's fairly short, and it's known as canebrake or rivercane. I should have said earlier we have 3 kinds in the ground and a couple more in pots, all running. There are very safe ways to grow running boo and it's a beautiful plant. Most of the clumpers just do not like our heat here. |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| Clumping bamboo isn't invasive like the running boo. Mine have not exceeded the space at all. It is right where I put it and no where else. I have planted perennials, herbs and annuals all around it and haven't hit any runners. |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| I'm in a cooler zone than Charlotte, practically near the VA border and on a partly sloping lot, which acts as a cool sink, especially in winter. Our place is usually a few degrees cooler even than Greensboro, only 20 miles south. The foothills topography here makes us a half zone lower than GSO. I really only want a clumper. Anyone have experience with Alphonse Karr? It seems to be touted as a good "starter" bamboo. wonbyherwits, do you recall which type of fargesia you have? |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| Tam- I should have mentioned "dig it up", thats where I think the spreading problem lies in these online ads. I use bamboo poles to train my rose on. I may even try to build a structure out of it like a pergola for the future back deck. Lyle |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| gbirds, Mine was just labeled 'fargesia' without any other classification. From browsing the web, it may be similar to fargesia rufa based upon the height and umbrella shape description. I got the last 3 at the nursery and they don't have it this year. Cameron Cameron |
RE: Who's growing clumping bamboo in NC? What kind?
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| I've got Alphonse Karr, but even though it is sold as hardy, the foliage burns in the winter and it looks terrrible. they have a huge amount of it at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, but it is a somewhat protected area and does not burn as badly. It does always come back and looks great, if you can put up with the ugly brown in the winter. Some of the runners are not terribly agressive and can easily be managed. It really only involves knocking down or mowing over the new culms when they sprout up in May. It only runs for about that one month, the rest of the year it behaves very nicely. |
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