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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Advice on Bamboo Plants around pond

    There is a 4.7 metre long 12" gap between my sleeper pond and the fence so I was thinking of planting bamboo in the gap.

    I've read the various horror stories about invasive bamboo chewing up pond liners so I'm thinking about buying a clumping type and half burying a row of window boxes between the pond and fence in order to contain the roots.

    Only thing is there are so many hundreds, if not thousands of types of bamboo I'm lost with what to buy.

    Looking for something that's attractive as a back-drop to the pond and will be successful in of 20cm deep window boxes (each box is 90cm long and 21cm wide) and grow neatly to a maximum of around 2 - 2.5 metres tall.

    Does anyone have any suggestions on what type of clumping bamboo would fit this scenario best?

    Any pictures would be greatly appreciated.



  2. #2
    Whitelea Nurseries
    I'd recommend contacting these guys - very helpful and recommended what to get when I had the same sort of question.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Handy Kenny's Avatar
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    RS2000,

    I have quite a few different bamboo in my garden and they have been there for years. I have found that the phyllostachys varieties (e.g. nigra which is black bamboo) have roots which tend to tend to clump and are more manageable. The most manageable are the most ornate and least readily available since the fast growing ones create profit more quickly for the grower. I have red ones, yellow ones with green stripes, green ones with yellow stripes, black ones all of which are easily managed and in 20 years I haven't had to dig them up. The standard green or yellow (fishpole bamboo) can grow quickly and is less easily managed. By far the least manageable are giant bamboo or the type with wider leaves that tend to go crackers when they become established. I have some red varieties that are used as hedges in China. Check out Wikipedia.

    One option would be to plant them in big buckets to stop the roots from spreading although it may be a better idea to put sheet steel down the outside of the pond. A tip I was given when I bought mine was to plant then in half a bag of well rotted horse manure. I did and boy was I impressed with the growth in the first season. Another tip was that in the first year the thing that would kill any bamboo was too little water, they like a lot. Koi pee would be ideal!

    Kenny
    Last edited by Handy Kenny; 20-02-2019 at 03:36 AM.

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  5. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Thanks Handy Kenny.

    You've at least saved me buying a load of rectangle planters.....Using a row of buckets is a great idea as I can get an unlimited free supply of square buckets which fit nicely between the pond and fence. I will bury them 3/4 deep and put gravel in the bottom to discourage roots growing through the drain holes and into my pond liner!

    Also I guess with buckets I can put different varieties in each bucket which might be nice.

    I will go with the manure trick too.

    The only thing is, with 8 buckets I guess I'll have to buy 8 plants, and bamboo plants don't seem to come cheap, even the smallest I've found are around £20 each.

  6. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Sim's Avatar
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    Hey RS
    I have some if you would like come and Chop some of the side your welcome too.
    I have phyllostachys yellow with a green stripe, also a smaller chimbosa (not sure how you spell it) which is small but quite nice.
    I'm between reading and Newbury so not to far from you I don't think.

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  8. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Thank you for the very kind offer Sim.

    Unfortunately you are a reasonable trek from me as I'm down in Kent, and getting a day off work isn't particularly easy as I cover Weekends and Week days.

    I've got a Week off to extend the pond next week so in the unlikely event I get it finished early I may send you a PM.

    That's 2 people now to mention phyllostachys which is interesting... but even that seems to have a million variations available.

    Maybe I could just buy a couple of plants and keep splitting them each year until I've got what I want.

  9. #7
    I found these guys very helpful when I had a similar question.
    Whitelea Nurseries
    Drop them an email and see what they recommend.

  10. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Handy Kenny's Avatar
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    RS2000,

    £20 is cheap as chips for a quality bamboo plant of any size. Even our local Garden Centre (Dobbies) sells the bigger ones at £80 and they tend to be the usual standard varieties.

    I visited this place and bought a load when I was on holiday, getting them in the car was a task and a half!! - https://www.scottishbamboo.com/

    The bamboo I bought from them was top quality. There is a load of useful info on the site and even a section on hedging.

    Kenny

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  12. #9
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion bowsaw's Avatar
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    my neighbour has giant bamboo and its quite impressive, its easily at the roof line, its contained by being planted in a dustbin with the bottom cut out,

    another friend in the village lived next door to a recluse that had planted it directly into the ground, you could only see 30cm past the boundary it was that thick, the new owner spent a fair while hacking It all back
    the slow pond build thread

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  14. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Sim's Avatar
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    Yes make sure if you get some it is contained as it's a real pain having to dig it out around it. It can be very invasive, and hard to cut out.
    I use a fork to dig out the rizones and then saw and Chop it out with an axe.
    The big bamboo at the front of my house is in a big drainage tube with a concrete slab at each end,

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  16. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    We have the clumping variety next to our wildlife pond, we put it in a root control bag, not had any issues with it
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
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    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
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    My Pond Build

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  18. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    My dad works in food supplies and got me 8 square buckets so I'll bury them 3/4 down, make some drain holes and plant the bamboo in them.

    That means I'll need to buy 8 bamboo plants! Will buy them gradually and maybe get a few different types, but will definitely stick with the clumping varieties.

    Thanks all for the help. I'll come back and post some pics in a few months once I've got them and they start getting established.

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  20. #13
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion bowsaw's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    My dad works in food supplies and got me 8 square buckets so I'll bury them 3/4 down, make some drain holes and plant the bamboo in them.

    That means I'll need to buy 8 bamboo plants! Will buy them gradually and maybe get a few different types, but will definitely stick with the clumping varieties.

    Thanks all for the help. I'll come back and post some pics in a few months once I've got them and they start getting established.
    if you get a well established plant, you can divided it up using a spade or old bread knife
    the slow pond build thread

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  22. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    I've bought 2 Bamboo plants so far:

    Fargesia Black Dragon which is supposedly a brand new (2018) clump forming bamboo with black stems similar to but far less invasive than Phyllostachys Nigra

    Also bought Fargesia Jiuhaigou (Red Panda Bamboo) which again is clump forming and the stems turn red which hopefully will be a nice contrast against the black dragon.

    Will be planting these in a row of 10 litre square buckets that I shall bury 3/4 down between the pond and the fence (These pics taken mid-way through my current pond build).


    IMG_20190302_170757.jpgIMG_20190302_170734.jpg

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  24. #15
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Now have a 3rd Bamboo variety to add. Morrisons are selling large Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys Aurea) for just £20.

    Phyllostachys Aurea is one of the more invasive ones that can send runners up to 15 feet in a season so I've read. I will double up the buckets for this one as I definitely don't want it escaping and chewing up my pond liner!

    Also have to say the Fargesia Black Dragon I mentioned above came from Charella Gardens website and I was really impressed with the amount I got for the price. It was so well established in the pot that I had to saw through it to split it and managed to make 3 nice plants out of it. It looks great too.

    The Red Panda I bought from elsewhere wasn't such a bargain. The total height turned out to be "including pot" and it was the tallest 2 litre pot I've ever seen being almost like a coke bottle in width and height, and as I took the soil out of the pot it just fell apart with barely any root system at all.

    I'll update with photos once the smaller ones have grown enough to peak above the height of my semi-raised pond.

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  26. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Sim's Avatar
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    Hey RS
    When I had bamboo around the pond the pots were sat on 9" concrete blocks on there side, if the bamboo ever gets out of the pot it's easy to pull it out and deal with it.

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  28. #17
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Thanks Sim.

    I did put bricks in the bottom of the buckets over the drain holes, but by the sounds of it the bamboo roots could move the bricks and get through the holes.

    Having read more on Phyllostachys Aurea I'm less concerned now as it seems to be less invasive than implied by the article I first read, and the runners prefer to get out of the ground asap, so as soon as they hit the side of the bucket they should turn upwards.

    I also took Handy Kenny's advice and 1/3 filled the buckets up with horse manure around the roots.

    Really looking forward to these growing as they look great (even the one that arrived with no leaves and chopped stems), and sound relaxing when the leaves rustle in the breeze. Blimey, writing that sentence made me feel like an old man.... My mates would definitely take the mickey if they saw that!

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  30. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Not the best of photos and not helped by the fact a gust of wind hit the bamboo just as I took the photo.

    Got some waiting to do before it establishes and covers the whole length of the pond, but this should give you the idea of what I'm aiming towards. Unfortunately you can't see the smaller ones particularly well in the pictures, and a couple haven't reached the top of the pond yet.

    IMG_20190328_140430.jpgIMG_20190328_140454 (2).jpg


    Will post another pic in a few months to see how they've progressed.
    Last edited by RS2OOO; 28-03-2019 at 09:30 PM.

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  32. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion Ajm's Avatar
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    Looking good mate . Will look beautiful when they fill out

    Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
    Freddyboy the legend

    "we are water keepers first"

    Johnathan

  33. #20
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion bowsaw's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Thanks Sim.

    I did put bricks in the bottom of the buckets over the drain holes, but by the sounds of it the bamboo roots could move the bricks and get through the holes.

    Having read more on Phyllostachys Aurea I'm less concerned now as it seems to be less invasive than implied by the article I first read, and the runners prefer to get out of the ground asap, so as soon as they hit the side of the bucket they should turn upwards.

    I also took Handy Kenny's advice and 1/3 filled the buckets up with horse manure around the roots.

    Really looking forward to these growing as they look great (even the one that arrived with no leaves and chopped stems), and sound relaxing when the leaves rustle in the breeze. Blimey, writing that sentence made me feel like an old man.... My mates would definitely take the mickey if they saw that!
    needs to be fully rotted manure or you will burn the roots and kill them
    the slow pond build thread

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