Narihira bamboo - running or clumping??

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adjsanders
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Narihira bamboo - running or clumping??

Post by adjsanders »

Newbie here! :?

The back of my garden is incredibly overlooked (new build!). I'd like to create a living privacy screen above the fence and after a bit of research am thinking bamboo could be a good way to go.

BUT, I'm a bit nervous about what I've read about runners and containing them!

I came across Narihiri bamboo (Semiarundinaria fastuosa) which looks very nice, is tall and takes up little horizontal space, but I seem to be finding contradictory information as to whether it is a runner or clump-forming?

Does anyone have any direct experience with this plant or expert knowledge who could help demystify?

I'm also stumped as to the best way to contain it. Barrier in the ground? Raised sleeper bed? Or raised concrete block bed? Something else?

The garden isn't huge so we're trying to conserve space - how wide should the planting area be? I was thinking around 40-50cm?

TIA!
Alan_L
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Re: Narihira bamboo - running or clumping??

Post by Alan_L »

Semiarundinaria fastuosa is running, but how much it spreads each year depends on your climate.

Raised bed will not contain running bamboo. In ground barrier is best option for containment, but can be difficult to install, especially in a narrow area. Plus the bamboo will eventually become rootbound, as if you were growing it in a large pot. Finally, 40-50cm (16-20") is probably okay, as long as the length of the bed is 3m or more. Longer is better because more space for rhizomes means taller plants with thicker culms (stems).
ShmuBamboo
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Re: Narihira bamboo - running or clumping??

Post by ShmuBamboo »

Semiarundinaria fastuosa (AKA Temple and Narihira) is a runner, and it can run deep and far. I have been growing it here for about a decade in the ground. It runs about 6 feet a year in all directions. I have acreage, so I do not have any barriers here. I dig up the runners, pot them up and sell them a year later after they shoot. Temple are like black bamboo; they like to escape from pots as well, as they tend to have deeper rhizomes than most. So if you put in bamboo barrier, get the wider type and put it deeper. Make a big pot to contain them any size or shape that you want. I spaced my planting of Temple in a row here and spaced them about 3 feet apart. They tend to throw up shoots in the clump, and then throw out long runners and shoot from those as well. So in a sense, they are both clumping and running. However, all Semiarundinarias and the related Phyllostacys have to be treated as rampant runners.

As an alternative, you might consider either Fargesia robusta or Fargesia scabrida. Those are true clumpers, though they do expand wider in time as well. They do not get as tall as Temple though.
Happy trails...
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