My sister lives near the New Milford area in CT (NW CT) and she saw Bamboo growing alongside a road in Brookfield CT which is fairly close to her home and there are no homes nearby.
She absolutely loves the way bamboo looks and grows so much so that she wants to just pull off the side of the road and take a few home with her.
My questions are: What type of bamboo is suggested for ornamental use only and is it advisable to just take bamboo that is on the side of the road or to go to a landscaper? I'm thinking it's better to go to a landscaper so she can get instructions on care and maintenance but if she wants what's on the side of the road how does she identify it to a landscaper?
Absolute Newbie Questions
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stevelau1911
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Re: Absolute Newbie Questions
It really depends on what you want to use it for because they all grow differently, and reach different sizes. You have screening bamboos to screen out the neighbors, landscape bamboos where you basically have a clump of larger bamboos with fewer culms, cold hardy clumpers which can make a screen, or be used for ornamental purposes in a small garden, and there are also tropical clumping bamboos that can be used for indoor growing in pots.
I would suggest finding out the species of what you are working with before digging something up and growing it in your yard. It could literally be Japanese knotweed which a lot of people will confuse with bamboo.
Some of the things you should consider is how big and tall you want them to get, spreading habit, thickness, size of leaves, how close together culms grow, and the uses that you have for the bamboo.
Here's a couple of my latest blogs on bamboo just to give you an idea of how they grow.
http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/2 ... .html#more
http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/2 ... -moso.html
I would suggest finding out the species of what you are working with before digging something up and growing it in your yard. It could literally be Japanese knotweed which a lot of people will confuse with bamboo.
Some of the things you should consider is how big and tall you want them to get, spreading habit, thickness, size of leaves, how close together culms grow, and the uses that you have for the bamboo.
Here's a couple of my latest blogs on bamboo just to give you an idea of how they grow.
http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/2 ... .html#more
http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/2 ... -moso.html
Re: Absolute Newbie Questions
Thank you so much! 
I'll relay your message to my sister as well as the links to your blogs since we live quite a distance away and she was vague on what she's looking for.
I'll relay your message to my sister as well as the links to your blogs since we live quite a distance away and she was vague on what she's looking for.
Re: Absolute Newbie Questions
All bamboo is beautiful. Just put it in pots and you're good to go, no matter what.