[Neiljw24]

Hi all

I have heard of a great deal for Black Bamboo herein Wexford, however I have never grown it before and I need some advise.
I love the contrast between the black and green and I bet the noise it makes in the wind is great.

Can someone please help on the below points.

How tall will Black Bamboo grow in Ireland? (I live in Wexford)

How difficult is it to control the roots?

I have heard of bamboo barrier. What is this and how useful is it?

I am planning on planting some of the Black Bamboo in a corridor between ourselves and our neighbours. I would like to plant it between the footpath and our fence on a North South axis. Can anyone forsee any problems?

Thank you all for your great advice and help.
Neil

[AtomicOrbital]

Hi there,

If it's Phyllostachys Nigra which is the normal type of Black Bamboo I've seen in our garden centres then there shouldn't really be any problem looking after it once you get it past a year in the ground and past our next weird winter.

Based on on my conversation with a good garden centre owner: It needs good drainage. Can tolerate dry conditions and some shade. It starts off green and over the year goes black. It's clump forming so although it'll spread given the opportunity apparently it doesn't put out runners so rampantly as other kinds. I haven't seen it grow over 10 or 12 feet but I think you'd be better off calling a garden centre if no expert on here can advise you on it's Irish eventual height. RHS say 2.5 to 4m and they're taking UK weather into consideration.

I was thinking of putting it in a raised bed which would help contain it. I also have a stack of old slate floor tiles to place around the edges of the bed. I plan to dig down the sides before I put the raised sides on the bed and place the tiles vertically into the ground side by side which will act as a root barrier (which you enquired about). This would mean, 300mm deep tiles and 250mm high sleeper. If it can go below 550 mm and come back to the surface it has some concrete path to get by before being able to put down more roots. I don't expect it to be a problem.

Would be interested to hear how you get on.

[kindredspirit]

AO has said it all really.

It grows between 12 to 15 feet tall. They grow taller in moister soil. The culms (stems) go black in their third year; before that they're green.

It's a "clumper" rather than a "runner" (so I've been told) but I would still put a barrier down if neighbours are involved. In fact it would be essential because of that fact.

Any barrier will do, as long as it stops roots and runners from going where they're not wanted.

Another bamboo that you might consider for your situation is Semi-arundo Fastuoso. Stunning red stems.

[tippben]

For a bamboo barrier, heavy duty butyl pondliner is ideal. Sink it 2' into the ground at the limits of the space you want the plants to occupy. It WILL send out runners, which are strong enough to split concrete. When a runner hits the plastic though, it'll turn skyward, as there is no structure to penetrate. Then it can be left to grow as a stem, or snipped off. Bamboo is a bugger to dig up or split, so best take preventative measures early, just in case!

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[kindredspirit]

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[Greengage]

its not a rummer check out stam's bamboo nursery for more info http://www.stambamboo.com/frames_home.htm