Achieve Backyard Privacy by Growing Bamboo
With property lots getting smaller and smaller, it seems harder than ever to find a backyard with a little privacy. These days you’re lucky if your neighbor’s windows aren’t looking right into your bathroom. If you’re in a neighborhood full of two-story houses, a traditional hedge or fence isn’t going to cut it when your neighbor’s deck looks right down into your kitchen. So, what’s the solution? Well, if you don’t want to build a 20-foot fence, you could try planting some bamboo.
Bamboo creates a natural barrier and grows quite tall. While trees take a long time to grow, bamboo can reach maturity in just a few years (growing 3 to 15 feet in a single year). Depending on the species you choose, bamboo can grow anywhere from 3 to 100 feet in height. This provides a wonderful, natural screen to give your backyard some privacy. If you’d like to save on your cooling costs in the summer as well, you can plant the culms densely, so they grow closely enough together to filter out harsh sunlight.
If you’re worried about roots spreading and being a problem, you can install a root barrier when you first plant the bamboo. Usually made from polyethylene or PVC material, these barriers come in rolls that are fairly simple for the average do-it-yourself type to install. You basically dig a trench and line it with the barrier. So, what are you waiting for? Go out, choose your species of bamboo, and get planting.
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edgeciate
Hello. Let’s get acquainted!
My name is Jessika.
molly
I planted bamboo last year from a friend’s harvest that’s 20 feet tall. I’m anxiously awaiting new growth. Last year they came out of the ground in mid summer (about 1 month after I planted them) and have remained basically 2-3 fee tall since. I am hoping this year I’ll see some major growth.
greenthumbpalms
A lot depends on species and type of bamboo. A rizome barrier is only needed for running bamboo. I f you live where temperatures do not get below 18F you can use clumping bamboos like bambusa multiplex varieties, bambusa malingensis, bambusa textilis gracilis among others. I have experience with these varieties and often use them in landscape jobs around my hometown of Ft. Lauderdale Florida. I have often heard the saying about bamboo “bamboo sleeps the first year, creeps the second year, then leaps the third year” hope this helps. I am very new to blogging but found this post while working on one of my own. I will try to keep you informed on my own bamboo hedge project.