Newbie Needs Your Expert Advice

20 years ago

First time on this board and have absolutely no knowledge of or experience with bamboo - I just have one desire - I absolutely love the look of it and want to use it in my new garden.

Now, with that as an intro, let me explain what I am doing and where I need your help. We are just planning our garden with a landscape architect and essentially have a blank canvas to work with. You also need to know that I live in Switzerland, but in the more temperate area (zones 7 - 8) not in the Alps. We also have height restrictions on our lot borders so that is a major consideration in making your recommendations.

I want to place the bamboo as a hedge along two property lines, one being about 15 M (~45 ft) long and the other about 10 M (~30 ft) long. When I say hedge, I would like the bamboo to form a hedge that people can't see through, if that is possible. The variety that you recommend cannot grow higher than 4 M (12 ft) high and ABSOLUTELY cannot spread to the neighbors' yards. I'm not sure if these restrictions rule out bamboo entirely, but I will be guided by your recommendations.

If you have any other suggestions, I would be glad to hear them.

Paul

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Comments (4)

iandad
20 years ago
I would start with the folks at the below link. They would probably be a pretty good reference for European bamboo choices (see link).

I am sure they could also help with EU regulations (may be the tricky part in all of this...) for shipping plants, my GUESS is that you are much better off dealing with an EU vendor than one in the US and be able to find an appropriate species list.

In addition here is a link to an NL vendor that has amazing boo gardens:

http://www.kimmei.com/eng.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Swiss Bamboo Society
paulbasel
Original Author
20 years ago
Many thanks for the follow-up. The NL vendor does indeed have truly beautiful bamboo gardens. Even though Switzerland is not in the EU, we do have very restrictive import regulations regarding plants, so it is definitely something I must take into consideration.

I hope you have time for a few other questions. In trying to educate myself, I read that one can limit the height of bamboo by cutting the culms at the desired height and they won't grow taller. Is this true? And if so, is it true of all species? Also, does this change the characteristics of the plant in any way, e.g., make it bushier, or _______? Obviously, it makes them shorter.

Thanks again

Paul
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User
20 years ago
After shooting, the culms will never grow any taller. I believe this is true of all species. New shoots will come up every year though, which would also have to be topped. I don't think it would make the growth much bushier, since Bamboo doesn't grow like most trees and shrubs. I could be wrong about this though.
bambooo
20 years ago
Look into the Fargesia species, they are clumpers and if your summers aren't too hot should do well.