Anyone have experience planting bamboo in their yard? I'm going to try it because I like the way it looks and how it stays green all year. Buying the clumps at Southwood but they don't have much of a selection, does anyone know other nurseries that sell bamboo? I think if I get it in by this weekend it should be okay with the first freeze approaching but the soil staying warm enough over the next few weeks.
Take very strong steps to prevent spread.
I believe you have to block at least 18" into the ground.
Had a neighbor experiment with bamboo years ago. It went poorly.
Great natural fence though.
You might want to ask your neighbors about it first...
It should stay confined to the raised beds, at least that's what I've been told about the 'clumping' type.
Quote from: SXSW on October 25, 2010, 10:27:25 AM
Anyone have experience planting bamboo in their yard? I'm going to try it because I like the way it looks and how it stays green all year. Buying the clumps at Southwood but they don't have much of a selection, does anyone know other nurseries that sell bamboo? I think if I get it in by this weekend it should be okay with the first freeze approaching but the soil staying warm enough over the next few weeks.
Bamboo makes a great year-round vegitative barrier to block noise and neighbor's lights, but Tulsa's climate is almost too friendly and it can get away from you quickly. Im also anxious to hear more about local experiences with this, good or bad.
Evergreens and red-tipped Photinias have been my favorite choice of barriers, but they grow so sloooow....
You are gonna be SOOOOO Sorry!!
Unless you move within the next couple years and let the next guy worry about it.
Quote from: patric on October 25, 2010, 01:05:10 PM
Bamboo makes a great year-round vegitative barrier to block noise and neighbor's lights, but Tulsa's climate is almost too friendly and it can get away from you quickly. Im also anxious to hear more about local experiences with this, good or bad.
Evergreens and red-tipped Photinias have been my favorite choice of barriers, but they grow so sloooow....
I have a detached garage that really isn't that attractive, but I put some Fraser Photinia around it, and it has grown almost from Size #1 to a full hedge in a matter of a year. Not too shabby of a growth cycle.
Bamboo is like heroin for your yard. Just say no. My son has spent most of the last two years trying to keep it at bay.
Maybe we should plant it around the abundant life building.
Quote from: waterboy on October 25, 2010, 02:12:51 PM
Bamboo is like heroin for your yard. Just say no. My son has spent most of the last two years trying to keep it at bay.
I've been told the way you maintain bamboo is with a machette or fire and the only way to ever fully get rid of it is with a backhoe. ;)
That is the running type. The clumping type doesn't spread. Or at least that's what they told me at Southwood. :)
A botanist at the Greenville SC zoo told me the only way to get rid of it it to get the roots out of the ground, and the best way to do that is to put some pigs in with the bamboo. They dig it up and eat every bit of it.
Quote from: Ed W on October 25, 2010, 03:20:13 PM
A botanist at the Greenville SC zoo told me the only way to get rid of it it to get the roots out of the ground, and the best way to do that is to put some pigs in with the bamboo. They dig it up and eat every bit of it.
I'm sure the neighbors would be 100% thrilled with the bamboo and pigs.
Clumping is about as good as it gets, but it still travels. Very intrusive.
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on October 26, 2010, 01:47:16 PM
Clumping is about as good as it gets, but it still travels. Very intrusive.
I had some at a home in Bartlesville that I recently sold. Owned the home for 7 years with very little spread but I can't for the life of me remember what variety it was!
It also never got over 5 feet tall so who knows. The next time I'm up there, I plan on harvesting some shoots to transplant to my new home.
NOOOOOOO!
I have a friend who planted bamboo about 12 years ago here in Tulsa, and it was her biggest regret. While bamboo looks awesome, it can take over your yard. Hers was at the back near her fence and they moved in closer and closer to her house, not kidding!
You can see the look I'm going for at Blue Moon Cafe in Brookside. They keep their bamboo trimmed to look like a hedge.
Quote from: SXSW on October 28, 2010, 08:37:01 AM
You can see the look I'm going for at Blue Moon Cafe in Brookside. They keep their bamboo trimmed to look like a hedge.
I like the look they have. They also have concrete surrounding the bamboo don't they?
Quote from: HoneySuckle on October 26, 2010, 07:19:50 PM
NOOOOOOO!
I have a friend who planted bamboo about 12 years ago here in Tulsa, and it was her biggest regret. While bamboo looks awesome, it can take over your yard. Hers was at the back near her fence and they moved in closer and closer to her house, not kidding!
Sounds like one of those great campy 1950's horror movies.
"The Creeping Bamboo Invaders"
Quote from: Townsend on October 28, 2010, 08:43:23 AM
I like the look they have. They also have concrete surrounding the bamboo don't they?
I think my raised planters should contain it nicely. I looked at theirs again and it's the same kind they're selling at Southwood. I'm going to wait until the spring to plant.
Dont they use that stuff for torture ? something about fingernails, I dont know. ;D
Quote from: DolfanBob on October 29, 2010, 02:50:59 PM
Dont they use that stuff for torture ? something about fingernails, I dont know. ;D
I think there is also a version where they plant the really fast growing stuff under someone tied down...
I would only plant bamboo (of any kind) in a planter, or (like Brookside) surrounded by 50 feet of concrete in every direction!
But I agree that it looks wonderful...if you can keep it in check.
My sister planted the stuff that looks like miniature bamboo (don't know what it's called). She had little square garden areas between her pool and a concrete path to her detached garage. The miniature bamboo travelled underneath the concrete path (2-3 feet wide) and now pops up in her lawn.
Quote from: PonderInc on October 29, 2010, 04:16:42 PM
I would only plant bamboo (of any kind) in a planter, or (like Brookside) surrounded by 50 feet of concrete in every direction!
But I agree that it looks wonderful...if you can keep it in check.
My sister planted the stuff that looks like miniature bamboo (don't know what it's called). She had little square garden areas between her pool and a concrete path to her detached garage. The miniature bamboo travelled underneath the concrete path (2-3 feet wide) and now pops up in her lawn.
I plan on putting liners in my raised planters. Though everything I read about the type of bamboo I'm putting in says it doesn't spread. The 'running' type is the one you want to avoid, unless you are creating a bamboo forest. The 'clumping' type, and specifically the type Southwood sells, does not spread but just to be cautious I'm going to put liners in.