Carolina Gardening: Name that bamboo, 1 by keonikale

keonikale wrote:
OK, two questions. First, do any of you know what the common bamboo you see it growing alongside the road all over South Carolina? Typically it's fairly small clumps of it, usually a hundred foot or so and it's never very tall. I have gotten the idea it is Timber Bamboo, but it seems too small for that almost. Just curious if any of you have any idea what variety of "wild" bamboo it might be.

Reason I ask is because I've collected a few pieces of it and I'd like to start building a screen in my backyard. My backyard is on a hill and my fence on the lower portion of the yard is really good for only keeping things out of the yard - but you can see right over it into my neighbors yard and beyond. See the photo below.

I'd like to plant this bamboo on the lower part of my retaining wall (between it and the fence), which is actually taller than it looks in the photo. The fence is 6 foot and the bed is around 3-4' at its highest point in the middle. I feel the bamboo would provide an excellent shield and also provide a great backdrop for what I'm about to do in that part of the yard (put in several banana, alocasia, and palms). I have a clumping bamboo in the ground there (since last fall) but I am not willing to wait 10 years for it to develop and provide my "barrier." Since no one lives in the two houses behind us at the moment (and some have yet to be built) - I figured this was the time to get my "barrier" in place.

My concern of course with using a running bamboo is, well, the fact it runs. My yard would likely be fine. It's not going to jump into my bed since the concrete blocks go about 2' into the ground at the base. Plus it'd have trouble fighting into the woods off to the left. I think the bamboo would also have trouble spreading to the right, up over the "hole" behind the wall. But I have no doubt it'll try and go under the fence and into my neighbors yard beside us. And given it's a very moist environment down there... I suspect the bamboo will thrive and spread. I know I can put guard in and that I can even destroy new culms that appear. But I am concerned my neighbor might not kill off the bamboo that spreads. I just don't want it to get out of control and I obviously can't go over and kill it for him. I suspect he may not even care about it. But others beyond his property might.

Am I being a worry wart on this? Or should I just go ahead and put it in the ground and try and get that privacy shield in place? I really just want to make the yard a bit more private - everyone can see in so easily right now.

Thanks,
John

This message was edited Mar 24, 2008 10:51 AM