Bamboo-Connecticut

14 years ago

Hi...I'm new to this forum..I am looking for some advice and possibly some bamboo. My zone is 6 (near Danbury, CT), and I have about a 300+ stretch of my back yard that buts up to a highway entrance ramp. Its VERY noisy, and often cars and trucks park there for hours on end. I have little kids and it makes me uneasy. There is a stand (maybe 40' or so) of really tall, old pines in between the end of the yard and the highway, and we put in a 10' tall berm of dirt in front of them, but doesn't really help with the noise or block the view. I was going to put Thuja's or Cypress tress, but I want something there YESTERDAY! Any suggestions as to which variety would be good? Should I plant them on the top and sides of the berm, or in front of it? I should be able to keep the runners out of my yard by mowing (from what I have read), right?. Is there a general rule about how many to plant per square foot? The area gets sun almost all day long, and its really kind of dry back there. If anyone has extra, I'd be happy to dig it up or purchase some...Free labor! But what they get online or at the nurseries would put me in the poorhouse, i think! Thanks! Sue

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Comments (3)

kudzu9
14 years ago
There are several problems with what you want to do:
1) You're in Zone 6, so most any bamboo will be damaged or defoliate in winter.
2) That's a large area to cover, and, if you can find a free source, you would still need about 50 divisions to get reasonable coverage in the near future...and it will take a couple of years for the bamboo to put up much new growth.
3) A bamboo grove will be unlikely to provide any sound reduction from the freeway.

Sorry, but I'm not sure putting in all that effort will benefit your situation very much.
Soozienurse
Original Author
14 years ago
Hmmm...You make some good points I had not thought of...I thought about Thuja's...but thought the bamboo would be faster. Plus, anything over 2' tall is pretty pricey. I do have access to tons of that ornamental olive tree/shrub the the state of CT DOT planted a while ago for bank stabilization..And that is also a need...I have a berm and need something to stabilize the soil on it. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help, btw...
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kudzu9
14 years ago
Thuja would be a better choice for a visual barrier as it will be denser and evergreen, will grow pretty quickly, and should be relatively inexpensive. In addition to that, planting the most inexpensive running bamboo in several locations will stabilize the soil well, although it will take several years to do this. Even if you get dieback in the winter of the aboveground growth, the roots will be fine and will continue to work to stabilize the soil. There is a popular belief in Asia that the safest place to be in an earthquake is a bamboo grove because the root system holds the soil together!