Bamboo

I could write a book on Bamboo (Poaceae, or Giant Grasses), and many folks already have! My Sunset Western Garden book lists 3 pages of varieties. You can find running bamboos that grow like weeds from underground rhizomes. There are also clumping varieties where the rhizomes spread only a very short distance from the parent plant before sending up a stem. This is very important to consider in your planting space! I have seen walls of bamboo that tower over 20 ft high, with stems easily a foot around in circumference. Some grow quickly, and others take a few years before they mature. Fertilizer and water will help plants grow more quickly, so if you don't want your garden to be overtaken, hold back on both. The photo to the right shows a tall bamboo behind the sculpture (taken in the Bamboo Garden at Quail Botanical Garden in Encinitas, CA).

Bamboos aren't attacked by many pests or diseases. Many are hardy to below frost temperatures. There are bamboos that are used as ground covers, as they grow only a few inches tall. Some clumping varieties resemble a green fountain, and these are quite useful in the garden, especially if you have a small space. One of these varieties is called Bambusa multiplex "Golden Goddess" and it is pictured above. I chose this variety because it is a clumping variety which will not overtake the small space it is planted in, and will also soften the look of the wall it is planted in front of. It also leads one through to the side yard.

There is yet a third group, the running types that grow upright, and can be used as a screen or hedge. The fourth group are the Giants, and, as mentioned, I've seen these used between homes with zero lot lines (such as where I live) as beautiful and effective "green curtains" that lend alot of tropical feel the what would otherwise be a large boring wall. When the Goddess slightly overgrows the path, I can cut her back, but I like her free-flowing structure. Since bamboos are grasses, sometimes they need to be confined to the space you've planted them in. Methods include an underground barrier, actively chopping off the rhizomes, or digging a small trench around the clump and hacking off the rhizomes as they enter this space. Don't be afraid to plant pot-bound bamboos as they are the ones that will get off to the best start in your garden.