Bamboo hedges as privacy protection

 

Bamboo is the perfect privacy screen - the plants are durable, growing and evergreen. 

Here you will find tips on planting, care and pruning of bamboo hedges.

evergreen, robust, opaque and extremely vigorous: bamboo is not without reason 

such a popular screen in the garden. Here you will learn how best to plant, 

care for and cut bamboo hedges so that you can enjoy the plant for a long time.

Bamboo hedges as visual protection: advantages and disadvantages

Bamboo hedges act as privacy screens, blocking out prying eyes, slowing down 

the wind and requiring much less maintenance than wooden fences. 

With its enormous growth rate, bamboo is the perfect hedge plant for impatient people. 

In addition, the dense foliage of the plants even dampens noises from the neighborhood. 

Bamboo is an XXL grass, which makes many people immediately think of wildly growing rhizomes. 

But by no means all species need escape-proof beds with rhizome barriers.

The slightly exotic-looking plants are of course a matter of taste, 

but bamboo in the garden does not really have any real disadvantages. 

The only thing is that its fine foliage evaporates a lot of water in summer and, 

as an evergreen hedge plant, it is sensitive to icy winter winds. 

This makes bamboo hedges unsuitable for exposed north or east sides. 

Nevertheless, bamboo is hardy, but must be watered on frost-free days even in winter.

Bamboo - a great visual protection even in the tub

As a potted plant, bamboo is also a perfect privacy screen 

on the balcony or terrace - and you can always position the pot exactly where you need it. 

The containers should be large, tilt resistant and of course frost-proof. 

In winter, the soil bales must not freeze through, 

so it is better to move the buckets against the wall of the house or wrap them in bubble wrap. 

Tip: Plant bamboo in plastic pots and place them in heavy terracotta pots - this makes them more mobile. 

For cultivation in pots, the umbrella bamboo Fargesia rufa with slightly bluish 

foliage or the dwarf bamboo Fargesia murielae 'Bimbo' have proved to be particularly suitable.

knife Who has no possibility to plant bamboo in the garden, can cultivate the giant grass also in the tub

The best types of bamboo for hedges

There are basically two types of bamboo that can be used as privacy screens: 

Fargesia (umbrella bamboo) and Phyllostachys (flat tube bamboo). 

Many garden owners only know the rampant Phyllostachys species, which quickly 

get out of hand without a rhizome barrier and often even find themselves in 

neighboring gardens. The rhizomes can easily cover ten meters in just one 

summer and also spread out under paths or terraces. 

However, Phyllostachys has a more beautiful coloration, grows taller and can be 

effectively kept in check with carefully placed plastic rhizome barriers.

If you don't want to go to all that trouble, plant upright and obstinate growing 

Fargesia species such as the proven Fargesia murielae 'Standing Stone' or - for 

high or very narrow hedges - Fargesia robusta 'Campbell'. Both love sunny to semi-

shady locations. The dwarf bamboo (Fargesia murielae 'Bimbo'), which is a good 

1.50 meters high, acts as a hedge like a small fence and is also suitable for small gardens. 

Jade bamboo (Fargesia jiuzhaigou) also gets by with little space, has pretty reddish 

stalks in the sun and can also cope with shade - but here the stalks remain green.

Planting bamboo hedges

Bamboo loves water-permeable, humus- and nutrient-rich soil and a location in the sun or semi-shade. 

It does not appreciate wind or a draughty place at all. 

Bamboo hedges should ideally be planted in spring, 

by which time the plants will have grown well by autumn. 

Plan at least one meter of space next to the hedge. 

If you want it to grow closer to the border of a property, 

make sure you create a rhizome barrier towards the neighboring property.

The planting distances depend on the patience or impatience of the gardener and 

the height of the plants: For bamboo in pots of ten liters or more, plant one plant every 70 to 100 centimeters. 

For smaller pots, place two to three plants per meter. As a minimum distance to buildings, 

you should plan at least the final height of the hedge.

The root ball of the bamboo should be allowed to soak up in a water bath before planting. 

Since bamboo loves loose soil, ideally dig a planting ditch instead of many smaller planting holes. 

This guarantees loose soil everywhere, but also means a little more work. 

On the other hand, watering is easier later on - the water is distributed much better in the loose soil. 

If you don't want to dig a ditch, you can dig the planting holes at least as large as the root ball.

Whether digging trenches or planting holes, loosen the soil at the bottom and fill in 

a ten-centimeter thick layer of compost and garden soil. 

The filled soil should be slightly below the garden floor to create a watering rim. 

Finally, shorten all stems by a third, so that the plants grow more bushy.

Cut bamboo hedges

A cut limits the height growth of bamboo hedges, 

makes them denser and keeps overhanging stems in shape by regularly shortening them. 

The best time to cut bamboo is in spring after budding, 

when the first side shoots have developed.

Although it belongs to the grass family, 

bamboo forms perennial, woody stalks and should not be cut like ornamental grasses. 

This would destroy the growth pattern, because cut stalks do not grow any further. 

Instead, bamboos sprout from the soil again or form short side shoots. 

In contrast to woody plants, bamboo stalks only grow for one season and retain this size forever. 

The following new shoots grow higher every year until the final height is reached. 

Therefore, make sure not to cut any stalks lower than the planned hedge height, 

the plants would not close the gap until the next year.

Bamboo poles can be used as support poles and for marking planting points. The stalks of the flat pipe bamboo (Phyllostachys) are best suited. They are more stable and usually straighter than umbrella bamboo straws.

After pruning, in which all shoots are shortened by a third, pruning in several height increments is ideal. 

The high bamboo shoots in the middle can be cut back to the desired hedge height with garden shears. 

The outer lateral shoots, on the other hand, should be cut deeper so that the 

hedge grows dense and leafy in the lower third. 

Trim all outliers back to the hedge level so that the bamboo hedge stays in shape. 

For Fargesia hedges use hedge trimmers, for stronger Phyllostachys it is much easier with garden shears. 

There you always cut just above a nodium (shoot knot).

Maintaining bamboo hedges

A bamboo hedge is very easy to care for: In spring there is some organic fertilizer, 

after that only regular watering is necessary. 

Extensive watering is especially important during longer periods of drought - the 

fine leaves of the bamboo dry out easily and become greyish. 

Water even in winter on frost-free days.

Caution: Rolled leaves are not always a sign of dryness. If the bamboo is too wet, it will react in the same way. Especially with potted plants you should therefore always check whether the soil is wet or dry before watering again.