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Howdy folks.

I have a nice grove of bamboo behind a 3-sided barrier at my current house, but we're moving to a new place that has a smaller yard. So, I need a bamboo in garden zone 7b (near Hershey, PA) that is about 8-12 feet tall (else it will shade the garden). Ideally, the bamboo would be fairly erect.

So far, I've thought about japonica and arundinaria gigatea. How tall will those get in my climate and how well will they do behind a 360-degree barrier? Aggression? Other recommendations?

I'll appreciate any guidance you can offer.

I think Bissetii would be the best for screening. If you're concerned about the barrier, try growing it in a raised bed.

Bissetii grows a lot taller than 8-12 feet when it matures though.

Semi-Arundinarias are the right size, and S-A yashadake 'Kimmei" is a very nice looking plant, grows to the desired height. It will suffer die back (to ground) if hit with temps around 5F though. Same with the other Semi-A's commonly availble. P Japonica the right height, but also get set back at that temp.

Fargesia rufra will eventually get to 8 ft and pretty much stay there, but should be in a space that would accommodate 8 ft of width as well.

dependable wrote: ↑Sun May 19, 2024 8:00 pm Bissetii grows a lot taller than 8-12 feet when it matures though.
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Under good conditions, yes. But, given a limited space, water and/or fertilizer, it may not even reach 10 feet.

I planted a Bissetii grove in my front lawn over a decade ago. For several years, I neglected it and it remain stunted under 5 feet, hardly spreading. Now that I pamper it, it's starting to grow and spread.

The temperature zone probably is the difference. I'm in zone 7a, and my bissetti runs wild and gets up over 25 ft tall. Of course care an nutrition play a part too.

The height thing is always a tough one as it's so dependent on specific conditions, so I'll just point out that I've seen some nice pruned bamboo screens if that's an option for you to keep it at a specific height. Pruning would also keep them much more upright I think.

I will also add that 360-degree containment could cause issues after many years. I wouldn't NOT plant there because of it, but know that at some point you might need to dig out a bunch of old rhizomes to make room for fresh growth.

I would recommend clumpers Fargesia robusta or scabrita. They make great screens. I am in zone 7 and my F. robustas and scabritas do great here. These have been down to 7 deg. F and survived with no issues.

Thanks for the responses, comrades. The bissetii in my last house (down the street from my current) was very aggressive, grew to between 20 and 30 feet tall and out competed harbin inversa, nigra, and yellow groove. The Japonica did okay but died to the ground one winter when we got down to -5; it came back the next year but at half height.

I imagine that any running bamboo I put behind a 360-degree barrier will eventually get rhizome bound, but my guess is that japonica is slower growing so might be happy longer?

Have any of you grown the macon variety of rivercane (arundinaria gigantea)?
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I grew several forms of A gigantea and all but one were fairly ugly to be honest and the Macon form is not a real looker either...I agree with the F robusta suggestions for zone 7, should get to the right height and no worries about spread.

How long do you expect F Robusta to get to about 10 feet tall in zone 6b/7a? Also, do the inner culms of a clumper die and leave the plant dead in the middle?

I couldn’t grow F robusta in 6a not hardy enough and might not try it in 6b but 7b should be fine. I’ll let someone who has grown it speak to how long to size up but I filed away if I ever live z7 it would be my go to for screening.

I think you might want to groom the clump as it matures, I’m now in 12b and growing only clumpers and I maintain the centers but mine are large culms and easier to maintain. It was a pain maintaining thin culm clumps in 9b but you know once a year isn’t that bad.

I seem to recall that F robusta got close to full size of 9 or10 ft tall after 6 or 7 years starting from a 3 ft cutting. This was in a sunny location with some fertilizer and regular watering for the first few years. Mine all was killed to ground in a freeze event in zone 7A, the one I left in place took several years to recover only to be killed back again about the time it reached full height. It is now getting back to size again, but is not as full as it does not really grow that well in the footprint it occupied before freezing.

So to answer previous question, the root area in center of plant is pretty dense, and new culms don't come up much in it.

I'll ad another suggestion, F denudata is nice looking, has survived freeze events. Mine is about 8 ft tall now, after many years, but in quite a bit of shade.

So, do clumpers exhibit 'male pattern baldness', i.e., do they die in the middle and have new growth only along the perimeter? Does is look odd?

Do you have any pictures of your denuda? Do you remember how long it has taken to get to its current size?

My denudata is also ~8' though I am in a far different weather pattern. 9B with cool summers, not many days over 70˚.
3 gal pot planted fall 2014

Does anyone have pictures of the Macon variety of Arund. Gigantea?