“Bamboo”zled

tempted by bamboos over the years, thinking we can contain them and reap the ornamental benefits they do possess. Probably 20 years ago, I planted a very attractive low growing bamboo, Shibataea kumasaca, between my garage and my neighbor’s property. Reaching only three feet tall, I figured it was containable. It was fine for the first five years or so but then started creeping and consuming adjacent beds, so I was forced to remove it. Just the other day at Longwood Gardens, in the beds in the parking lot, I observed the low growing attractive Sasa veitchii which has edges of the leaves that turn beige giving it a variegated look. This entire bed is encircled with asphalt, but even so I have seen instances where the bamboo will start to penetrate the asphalt. At the Scott Arboretum, there is a handsome stand of Phyllostachys nigra which has stunning black, smooth, sinuous stems and green foliage above. This planting is basically surrounded by cement edging that goes probably two feet into the soil to contain this otherwise very aggressive species. Essentially, there are two groups of bamboos. Most species are the “running” types such as Phyllostachys, Bambusa , Pseudosasa , Shibataea , Sasa, Sinarundinaria and many more. There are some species that don’t “run” and are manageable in the landscape and these are considered “clumping” types and these would include Fargesia, which is hardy in this area.

In this area, the most ubiquitous and aggressive of the bamboos are any number of Phyllostachys including P. aurea and P. aureosulcata which would have hints of yellow and gold in the culms, which is the technical term for the stems. There are many species of the most typical green bamboo, which is characterized by green stems and foliage. One of the most common is Bisset’s bamboo, Phyllostachys bissetii.

Any of the “running” types of bamboo become problematic very quickly in the garden and landscape. They spread by horizontal spreading stems and colonize the adjacent ground with both surface stems and stems just below the surface of the soil. There are products that can be purchased and inserted into the ground to help contain bamboo, or trenching along the edge of the clump and creating a metal or concrete edge can help as well, however it just takes one stem to escape the barrier for the bamboo to run rampant. There are many local instances of what was thought to be contained bamboo escaping and invading adjacent neighbors’ properties and wreaking havoc. Once a mass of the “running” types of bamboos is well established, eradication can be time consuming and often very expensive.

In recent years, some of the clump forming bamboos have gained in popularity. Fargesia rufa ‘Green Panda’ forms a tight cascading clump to ten feet tall, and the Chinese fountain bamboo, Fargesia nitida, can reach ten to fifteen feet tall.

Editor’s Note: Andrew Bunting is Vice President of Horticulture for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He is one of the most recognized horticulturists in the Philadelphia, Pa., region and a highly regarded colleague in the world of professional horticulture. Bunting has amassed a plethora of awards, including the American Public Gardens Association Professional Citation, Chanticleer Scholarship in Professional Development, Delaware Center for Horticulture’s Marion Marsh Award, and the Certificate of Merit from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. In addition, Bunting has lectured extensively throughout North America and Europe, and participated in plant expeditions throughout Asia and Africa. Learn more at https://phsonline.org/team/ andrew-bunting