Incredible!! Ghost, gracilis & Oldhamii are the fastest growing here in that order. Most of the species will acheive 80% of their max height within 3 years from a 200mm pot!
Gracilis needs 2 summers for a 200mm pot into a magnificent 4-5m thick green hedge.
300mm pots reach their destination
much faster.
Ghost shoots can grow 1m a day in the peak of summer, very exciting.
Its really windy at my place, will they be ok?
Wind is not generally a problem, keep in mind the aspect. Westerlys are usually bitterly cold and dry which can shred and yellow tropical plants, north easterly summer winds usually have no effect on any of the plants.
I find plants from japan, southern china and himalayas handle the cold with ease where as indonesian plants suffer towards the end of winter but leaf up instantly as the days lengthen again.
I dont have much space, how much do they need ?
Many of the bamboos such as gracilis, ghost, tiger grass, goldstripe, khasia, oldhamii* are very tight. So compact that a rodent couldnt squeeze through. usually 500mm -1m wide is fine, oldhamii can get bigger if unattended for many years
Some are described as open clumpers such as, chungii, Buddah belly, painted ect. Some of the larger ones if ignored, can get 2-3 metres wide such as painted Bamboo (Vitatta).
At taronga zoo in sydney,i stepped out a single clump of painted bamboo 6 steps wide!
Again it comes down to professional advice and correct species selection.
They will live in terrible soil, but not flourish, just like a palm.
I dig a hole at least twice the size of the pot,rip in a blend of rotted horse, cow and chook poo but any manure is fine!
Worms are a good indicator the soil is right, clay is full of minerals but needs air through it. Add organic matter and a handfull of clay breaker(Gypsum) always does the trick. Soil should be soft.
75-100mm mulch the best investment ever, worms love it!
Large 40L bags of manure for bamboo $10
Plenty of water like any tropical plant untill established, if soil is prepared properly and 75mm of mulch kept maintained, will survive on rainfall in temperate regions. some cases irrigation dripper may be needed, especially in pots!!!
Any organic liquid fertilizer for soil such as seasol or nitrosol helps promote lush growth in warmer months, high salt ferts such as aquasol or thrive kills esential soil bacteria.
Why are they the price they are?
Many of the plants are extremely difficult & slow to recover from propagation.
Ground digging is a huge effort wich much of the time requires earthmoving equipment and expertise.
Storing large numbers of the plants in small pots over summer requires heavy irrigation 3 times a day.
Great in the cool ground, but in a pot Its like living in a black wetsuit in the sun,they hate it!
Why buy from South Coast Bamboo?
- Competitively priced
- Grown in the full sun & used to cold sydney winters proven performers!
- Professional Landscape advice on plant selection and suitabilty
- View the plants in a real garden display environment,You will be amazed !!!
- We can plant/Deliver for you (Rates Apply)
Clumping Bamboo is great for hedging. I have seen 15m buddah belly variety as a 40cm bonsai.
The shoots are like telescopic fishing rods, when cut they will not grow taller, but will still develop leaves all the way up on each node left on the cane. Perfect for topiary as well.
