What are your thoughts on bamboo in the garden?

I bought some yesterday and its the spreading not the clumping kind, the man at the nursery said I would be able to control it, i wanted the clumping kind initially because I heard it spreads allot slower, iam trying to create a privacy screen ...but in reviewing the whole situation, Im thinking that maybe I dont want any bamboo at all because maybe it will prohibit the sun from getting to my raised bed garden, I should probably just wait awile and mull it over... any thoughts?

What are your thoughts on bamboo in the garden?
Most bamboo spreads and believe it or not hard to keep it under control unless you spend a lot of time in your garden area.....you can keep it from spreading so much by putting it in cheap containers or buckets and bury them....Once you decide where you want it....To help figure out if your raised garden bed will be getting sun......Watch the sun as the days comes and goes.....Some get the morning sun...some the afternoon sun.....and some all day sun......If you watch you will notice when shade hits the raised garden area......Until you can decide about how much sun will be blocked by the bamboo........This is solved pretty easy.......

Take your bamboo in it's container and sit it out in the place where you was thinking....and watch how much sun is blocked from you garden area.....This might take a couple of days....but it might be worth it in the long run.....You can move the bamboo around until you are happy where the sun is on your garden.....Then plant your bamboo....pot and all to keep the spreading under control.......Good Luck !!
Reply:First of all take it back and get the clumping kind. Unless you put in rhizome barrier it will spread everywhere, and both you and your neighbors will regret the day you ever planted it.



However, the clumping kind are NOT invasive, I don't care what anyone says. All it takes to control it is to dig around it a few times a year to break away any roots that may be spreading the clump too wide, and then break any new shoots that have appeared where you do not want them. Depending on the type you can even control the spread with 12x12 pavers or even plant the bamboo in raised beds. None of this takes alot of effort and it makes for a beautiful privacy screen.



Now, depending on where your raised beds, how high you desire your privacy screen and where you are located will determine what type of clumper you should purchase. There are many that grow only between 10 to 15 feet tall, and many that grow upwards to 60 feet tall. There are also clumpers that will not survive temps below 30F and some mountain clumpers that take temps to about -15F. So again, not knowing exactly where you are and what you desire doesn't help any.



My suggestion is to not talk to your local gardener but instead talk to a bamboo expert who can help you make the right choices.
Reply:Naughty man at the nursery!!!! You will not be able to control it if it is planted straight into the ground.Also the spreading type grow taller than the clump type. If you do decide to keep it, then to help control it, you will need to dig a hole and line the sides with plastic to stop it spreading.

It will stop some of the sun from your beds but bamboo is fairly 'airy' so will let some through.You could always cut a few canes out to filter more light through.The clump type by the way is tighter growing so probably will have blocked more light out anyway.

Anything you plant as a screen will block out the light. It all depends how tall you want the screen to be. If just a short one is needed, then go for some evergreen grasses maybe??

Or maybe a latticed fence for something taller?? If you like the bamboo idea still what about an open structured bamboo fence??

Hope this helps :-)
Reply:I always advise against bamboo of any kind because it is so very invasive, even the clumping kind. As a landscaper of 20 years, I have made lots of money removing bamboo from the garden after the homeowner bought it thinking it could be controlled. There are other good privacy screen plants. Talk with your local nursery about what is best for where you live. I would probably not talk to the same guy at the nursery who told you you could control bamboo.
Reply:I've read bamboo spreads fairly quickly. The question you should ask yourself is "Do you really want to spend time controlling it?"
Reply:No, take that spreading stuff back! Unless that man is moving in with you to take care of it, he has just signed you up for trouble! Clumping is best if you just like the stuff - it will spread a little by seed but you can control that will a hoe now and then or spend 1/2 hour each year pulling up the little sprouts. In some colder areas even the spreading type is not as invasive, but "not as invasive" will still be a head-ache over time. The roots are also very strong, so growing it inside a plastic-lined shell or even a pot will eventually fail.

Put up some posts and tie a sparse lattice of branches to it - then let something like morning glory or trumpet vine or wisteria or climbing rose mount the branches - even cucumber or tomato vines will do. We do have some Nandina we use for screening in Zone 7 and it is a clumping Bamboo - we control it by removing their pretty red berrries right after Christmas so they do not finish up and fall to make more plants!
Reply:My thought is DON'T PLANT IT!!!!!!!!!! Go with an ornamental grass that is clump forming or rhizome forming. Here is some good pics: http://www.deansevergreens.com/catalogor...

Unfortunately you can't buy from these people, but alot of pics with names that you can research.
Reply:I heard on a gardening show to control bamboo from spreading where you do not want it to go, is to plant it in a container that you have buried in the ground and filled with dirt.

Other wise the roots will spread and you will not be able to control it.