discussion on multiplex vs runners
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 6:25 pm
new to the board, but i have a few questions for all of you experts, i apologize greatly in advance for long-winded description:
we built a pool with landscaping in the fall 16/spring 17. we live in dallas tx.
i wanted a bamboo wall along a fenceline, with the fence being partly between us and neighbors, and partly along the alley. Overall the length of the bed is 90 ft, and it is roughly 3.5 feet wide throughout. the bed is about 3-10 ft from the pool at various points, and abuts two of the four sides of the rectangular pool
after what i thought was exhaustive research, i decided that i wanted a cold tolerant clumping bamboo rather than a runner, given the fence line being common to us and the neighbors. i was not interested in having the trench on both sides of the bamboo for rhizome trimming (if we had selected a runner) directly along the fence behind the plants, and in front of the plants.
the look we were going for was: bamboo up to 12-20 ft, bushy at the top, individual culms at the bottom around 1 - 1.5 inch each, green color. the bed was to have a rock surface (black onyx), with relatively large rocks (1-2 in).
our landscaping co was not well-versed in bamboo, and gave us the usual warnings on bamboo. they did not know about clumpers vs runners. they recommended a bamboo barrier even though we were doing clumpers, and the more i thought about it, i did think that this might be a good idea, because at some point we were going to have an issue with the central clump of culms inching toward the neighbors/our fence, and ultimately there cold be some rhizomes coming under the fence.
they recommended a edpm pond liner as a root barrier (and they thought this was ok for running bamboo). we had them dig the whole bed to a depth of about 2.5-3 ft, and fully line the entire 90 feet with 45 mil edpm pond liner. in watching them i noted that they did a good job of shoring up/overlapping the connections between sheets.
so i decided on bambusa multiplex (green hedge) after a long discussion with several growers in austin and houston. i was happy to hear about cold tolerance to 18 or 19 degrees, and the fact that the only damage would be some yellowing and minor leaf loss at this temp. in dallas we do have some periodic cold weather in the winter, with temps in the single digits for short intervals. we also have some freezing precip periodically, and i honestly was most afraid of freezing rain.
i purchased 45 of the 1 gal size, and it was shipped to dallas. when we got them, the landscape guys were not ready to plant, so they set in pots outside through some cold days. when they planted them, some had dead stalks, some had very few leaves.
the beds are mostly solid soil, with little mulch/organic material. they installed a drip/hose system under the rocks, above the weed barrier. we ran the irrigation daily throughout the spring/summer/fall last year, 5 min/day. please note that i think that the enclosed bed likely held a fair amount of water.
over late spring/summer/fall we did get a lot of growth, both filling out of leaves and elongation of the existing culms, along with a variable amount of new little shoots. i was concerned about the overall diameter of the old/new shoots, but was reassured by our bamboo guy in houston that we can expect the final mature stalks to be 1/2-1.5 inches each. i was bothered by the tendency of the stalks to shoot out in all directions, not achieving our goal of a bamboo wall of upright stalks with bushiness on the top. we were instructed to train them up by wrapping a velcro strap which i got at home depot around the bunch of stalks, which did make the whole bunch sit a little more upright.
so fast forward to late december 17, cold wave, temps to lower teens for about 3-5 days, no precip. every single leaf died, and over the past 2 mos have fallen to the ground. about 50-70 percent of the stalks are dead, and in some of the 45 plants ALL of the stalks are dead.
QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
1. can we expect multiplex to rebound??
2. given the fact that we yearly have a several hard freezes, and we can expect several days under 19, will we get a leaf kill every year. if so, will the more mature stalks make new leaves at the top, or are they done for??
3. did our problem occur because of the scrawny nature of our specimens that we planted.
4. we watered throughout the winter, so the advice about watering before cold snap to "insulate" does not apply
5. in yall's opinion, was i misinformed about the long-term outcome in b multiplex green hedge??? ie, is the expectation that we will get a bunch of tiny stalks (all currently are less that 1/2 in, most are less that 1 cm), which grow in a bunch of directions rather than straight up, producing that classic big-stalk bamboo barrier look.
6. with multiplex species, do you agree with a loose velcro wrap about 12-18 in up the stalks to collect them into a cohesive plant, with the intent being to "train" them to be upright
7. i have considered digging all 45 plants up and placing a running bamboo (henon, etc) which would likely provide better cold tolerance and a more classic look that we want. my concern is the fidelity of the root barrier that was installed. i have gotten mixed opinions on 45 mil edpm pond liner, even when installed properly, at proper depth, and with appropriate connection between sheets. i should mention that our landscaping people are not avail at this time.
8. i do not want to shoulder the burden of digging up, or paying someone to dig up the entire 90 x 3.5 feet bed, and placing a more appropriate liner, then replanting with a runner.
if we give the multiplex another summer to define itself and it does not get thicker stalks, and/or it dies again in the winter, i am going to (sadly) give up on my dream of a bamboo wall. we have spent quite a lot to get the beds done as they are, and i will just put in some tall hedge-like plant if that is the case.
if you have experience with 45 mil edpm pond liner, and can vouch for its effectiveness in controlling runners, please speak up, as this would be a relatively easy fix for us, and could be done DIY.
thanks for listening, and i welcome all input that you might have
bg
we built a pool with landscaping in the fall 16/spring 17. we live in dallas tx.
i wanted a bamboo wall along a fenceline, with the fence being partly between us and neighbors, and partly along the alley. Overall the length of the bed is 90 ft, and it is roughly 3.5 feet wide throughout. the bed is about 3-10 ft from the pool at various points, and abuts two of the four sides of the rectangular pool
after what i thought was exhaustive research, i decided that i wanted a cold tolerant clumping bamboo rather than a runner, given the fence line being common to us and the neighbors. i was not interested in having the trench on both sides of the bamboo for rhizome trimming (if we had selected a runner) directly along the fence behind the plants, and in front of the plants.
the look we were going for was: bamboo up to 12-20 ft, bushy at the top, individual culms at the bottom around 1 - 1.5 inch each, green color. the bed was to have a rock surface (black onyx), with relatively large rocks (1-2 in).
our landscaping co was not well-versed in bamboo, and gave us the usual warnings on bamboo. they did not know about clumpers vs runners. they recommended a bamboo barrier even though we were doing clumpers, and the more i thought about it, i did think that this might be a good idea, because at some point we were going to have an issue with the central clump of culms inching toward the neighbors/our fence, and ultimately there cold be some rhizomes coming under the fence.
they recommended a edpm pond liner as a root barrier (and they thought this was ok for running bamboo). we had them dig the whole bed to a depth of about 2.5-3 ft, and fully line the entire 90 feet with 45 mil edpm pond liner. in watching them i noted that they did a good job of shoring up/overlapping the connections between sheets.
so i decided on bambusa multiplex (green hedge) after a long discussion with several growers in austin and houston. i was happy to hear about cold tolerance to 18 or 19 degrees, and the fact that the only damage would be some yellowing and minor leaf loss at this temp. in dallas we do have some periodic cold weather in the winter, with temps in the single digits for short intervals. we also have some freezing precip periodically, and i honestly was most afraid of freezing rain.
i purchased 45 of the 1 gal size, and it was shipped to dallas. when we got them, the landscape guys were not ready to plant, so they set in pots outside through some cold days. when they planted them, some had dead stalks, some had very few leaves.
the beds are mostly solid soil, with little mulch/organic material. they installed a drip/hose system under the rocks, above the weed barrier. we ran the irrigation daily throughout the spring/summer/fall last year, 5 min/day. please note that i think that the enclosed bed likely held a fair amount of water.
over late spring/summer/fall we did get a lot of growth, both filling out of leaves and elongation of the existing culms, along with a variable amount of new little shoots. i was concerned about the overall diameter of the old/new shoots, but was reassured by our bamboo guy in houston that we can expect the final mature stalks to be 1/2-1.5 inches each. i was bothered by the tendency of the stalks to shoot out in all directions, not achieving our goal of a bamboo wall of upright stalks with bushiness on the top. we were instructed to train them up by wrapping a velcro strap which i got at home depot around the bunch of stalks, which did make the whole bunch sit a little more upright.
so fast forward to late december 17, cold wave, temps to lower teens for about 3-5 days, no precip. every single leaf died, and over the past 2 mos have fallen to the ground. about 50-70 percent of the stalks are dead, and in some of the 45 plants ALL of the stalks are dead.
QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
1. can we expect multiplex to rebound??
2. given the fact that we yearly have a several hard freezes, and we can expect several days under 19, will we get a leaf kill every year. if so, will the more mature stalks make new leaves at the top, or are they done for??
3. did our problem occur because of the scrawny nature of our specimens that we planted.
4. we watered throughout the winter, so the advice about watering before cold snap to "insulate" does not apply
5. in yall's opinion, was i misinformed about the long-term outcome in b multiplex green hedge??? ie, is the expectation that we will get a bunch of tiny stalks (all currently are less that 1/2 in, most are less that 1 cm), which grow in a bunch of directions rather than straight up, producing that classic big-stalk bamboo barrier look.
6. with multiplex species, do you agree with a loose velcro wrap about 12-18 in up the stalks to collect them into a cohesive plant, with the intent being to "train" them to be upright
7. i have considered digging all 45 plants up and placing a running bamboo (henon, etc) which would likely provide better cold tolerance and a more classic look that we want. my concern is the fidelity of the root barrier that was installed. i have gotten mixed opinions on 45 mil edpm pond liner, even when installed properly, at proper depth, and with appropriate connection between sheets. i should mention that our landscaping people are not avail at this time.
8. i do not want to shoulder the burden of digging up, or paying someone to dig up the entire 90 x 3.5 feet bed, and placing a more appropriate liner, then replanting with a runner.
if we give the multiplex another summer to define itself and it does not get thicker stalks, and/or it dies again in the winter, i am going to (sadly) give up on my dream of a bamboo wall. we have spent quite a lot to get the beds done as they are, and i will just put in some tall hedge-like plant if that is the case.
if you have experience with 45 mil edpm pond liner, and can vouch for its effectiveness in controlling runners, please speak up, as this would be a relatively easy fix for us, and could be done DIY.
thanks for listening, and i welcome all input that you might have
bg