Bambusa textilis var. gracilis

[WestCoastGal]

AliceHunter was asking about Bambusa textilis var. gracilis (Slender Weaver's Bamboo) in another thread, and thought I'd share photos of the "hedge" that went in our yard back in August of 2013. We were looking for something in the 20-25 foot height range that would give us privacy from our neighbor's two-story house when we use our fireplace patio area. We wanted something that would be upright with fairly thin culms so removal would be easier. It was also important that it was an evergreen for year round privacy and color.

Photos from 8/2013:

Photos from 11/2013:

Looked pretty sparse at the end of summer but was told not to expect much this first year. Watering was set up on a drip system. We were experiencing a leaky pipe in the area so held off mulching that first year.

From fence to fireplace is apx. 53 inches. We wanted a stepping stone pathway behind the fireplace so allowed for about 23 inches for that. We'll be breaking off any shoots that pop up in an unwanted area and severing rhizomes when needed. Our plan will be to trim a certain amount of leaf growth near the bottom exposing the canes and making maintenance down near the ground easier hopefully. This is our first venture with bamboo so sure we'll learn from this.

[WestCoastGal]

2014 saw more filling in and a bit more height. Enjoyed seeing how bamboo grows. We added mulch and fertilized during the year. The bamboo gets full day sun for the most part.

I'll try to provide side and front views so you can see how the bamboo fills out and how fast it grows in our area.

From July, 2014:

From August, 2014:

From September, 2014:

And from December:

[WestCoastGal]

More culms with good height this year, and noticeable overall filling in. In my area the bamboo does it's growing during the summer and fall months. Looking forward to seeing where the hedge is come fall.

From 5/2015:

[WestCoastGal]

Here's a few more general photos of the leaf structure.

So far corralling the bamboo with lines attached to the fence has been working for us.

Since bamboo tends to sometimes shoot out at angles from the ground, our intent has been to shape the growing culm in an upward straight direction we would like to see and remove young shoots that grow out too angled. We been doing this since 2014 and it seems to be fairly effective. The stringing is reattachable so that we can add new culms as needed to the grouping. Does anyone else do something like this? My plant lady says one of her clients has constructed a bamboo fence around her hedge which accomplishes something similar.

[WestCoastGal]

For some interesting landscape uses of bambusa textilis var gracilis check out this Melbourne, Australia website:

http://www.redcloudbamboo.com.au/index.php/clumping-varieties/gracilis

[Ben in Norcal]

Cool site with some of those ideas! I am just getting into bamboo...trying 4-5 different clumpers in the ground. It appears they don't grow quite as fast as I might have thought...should be interesting to watch develop though. Some of the blues and blacks are just stunning.

[WestCoastGal]

I love looking at Red Cloud's site, glad you found it interesting. It sounds like from a bamboo "sculpting" view, B textilis v gracilis is the way to go and they do mention fasca as falling into the same category.

I know a number of bamboos can be topped with good results but always wondered how you would go about doing that...ladder? Red Cloud says it's as simple as grabbing the culms at head height and pulling over and trimming then releasing. That was a useful tip hadn't run into yet. We're not at that point but will keep it in mind. West County Bamboo (where we purchased our gracilis from, actually closer to you than us) says to expect 16-20 feet in the Bay area, but we're inland so not sure how our hot, dry summer temps affect growth. When we were looking for this variety, WCB was the only somewhat local source for us carrying it. Very pleased with our purchase and customer service there.

We've resisted doing much pruning at all thus far as the leaves are what provides the food for the next year's growth and right now height for privacy is what we want. So far I'd have to agree with the saying: The first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, and the third year it leaps. It's amazing how fast it can shoot up in a day, and I can't imagine what this spurt is like for large timber bamboo. And some of the culm colors really are stunning. Ben, curious what bamboo you've chosen to plant. It would be nice to see a progression thread on it.

[Ben in Norcal]

Ben, curious what bamboo you've chosen to plant. It would be nice to see a progression thread on it.

I'm trying a few. Himalayacalamus hookerianus which I got at Flora Grubb a couple of weekends back. Bambusa lako, chungii, and oldhamii. Then also a Dendrocalamus minor 'Amoenus'. Finally (so far) a Fargesia nitida, since I saw that is what Jim Denz has and I love his plant. So we will see how all of those do. I got all (with the exception of the Himalaycalamus) as 2 gallon ish plants, so it will probably be a while before they look like anything...

Edit: I did also get a clump of the B. chungii from John Case which is more 15g size. So that was cool!

[WestCoastGal]

Cool, it will make a nice comparison for anyone in norcal that is considering one of these. Are you 9a/b like us (cold hardy)?

I should probably mention that our var. gracilis was planted August 2013, and December 2013 is when we got hit with week long or more of very low winter temps. A nearby station from us recorded 22F as the lowest it got and we had many nights below freezing. That cold period saw temps stay below freezing for many hours until sunrise too. We didn't have mulch on the bamboo that winter either and I remember thinking that probably was a mistake. However, the var. gracilis looked pretty good to me come spring. I hadn't discovered frost cloth yet (first year with a landscaped yard) and our birds of paradise got taken down to the ground that winter.

Here's a few photos I found I had taken with the bamboo in it after this cold snap, and as you can see it didn't really drop any leaves from the temps so I feel pretty good that it will be a true evergreen hedge for us. First 2 are from January and the third is from April.

Jim's in a sweet spot zone where he's at and his overhead coverage and pond I'm sure help moderate temps in his garden alot. Don't think he said he had any below freezing temps there that winter. Where we planted our bamboo is pretty much out in the open although the lower sections are sandwiched between the concrete/stucco fireplace back wall and the redwood fence.

[Alicehunter2000]

Excellent WCG very pertinent to my situation. Do you have bamboo barrier along the fence line to keep the bamboo out of your neighbors yard? Looks like it is filling in nicely. So do you think with the clipping and coraling you can keep a pathway pretty clear on the backside of the fireplace? Seems to be the perfect application for this bamboo.

[WestCoastGal]

Excellent WCG very pertinent to my situation. Do you have bamboo barrier along the fence line to keep the bamboo out of your neighbors yard? Looks like it is filling in nicely. So do you think with the clipping and coraling you can keep a pathway pretty clear on the backside of the fireplace? Seems to be the perfect application for this bamboo.

Our situation is a bit different than yours in that our neighbor's backyard is actually 2 feet below ours with a retaining wall across their back fence side. It was a sloped elevation as set up by the Developer but they cut into the slope wanting flat land there. Everyone told us we wouldn't need a bamboo barrier, but we decided to play it safe and avoid any possible neighbor problems should they reslope that area and so ran the barrier in a U-shape along the fence in that bed anyway. Easy enough to do at planting stage.

This month we pulled out a canna on our side of the fence that came from our right side neighbor's yard. Obviously the rhizome went under our fence panel and I assume even clumping bamboo could do the same. Doubtful it would in our particular sitatuion with the neighbor with the drop off, but our left side fence at the corner there is a common area fence with the association property so figure we're covered now in any event. The fence posts go down a foot maybe but the fence bottom and railing there are just at ground level. So something to keep in mind. An Australian website, Bambooland.com.au, had this recommendation: "Should be planted at least 0.5m away from fences, unless using a root barrier of some description to stop it from growing under the fence." so I feel good about our decision.

I understand that var. gracilis does very well in hurricane winds. It stays green and holds onto it's leaves in low 20f temps. It is relatively disease resistant. I'd say very little litter. Provides 2-story coverage and I've been told does well pruned to a certain height if you desire something shorter. In Florida it might grow more to its maximum height, so check with locals growing it if that's a concern. It doesn't like wet roots so I'd say avoid that corner of your lot with the sometimes "swamp" I saw photos of a while back. From photos I've seen of mature var. gracilis it stays upright with a slight weeping at the very top.

As for maintaining it in a narrow space, based on the Red Cloud's website photos of different landscape applications with it, I'd say it's very doable with selective pruning (I'll have more to add on this in the next few years). Some of those photos were of a very narrow planting bed. I can say that the shoots are very, very easy to break off at ground level when they are first coming up.

[WestCoastGal]

David, there is another B textilis that you might want to check out. It's Bambusa textilis 'RG' or referred to as B textilis dwarf or sometimes I've seen it incorrectly listed as gracilis dwarf in people's posts. It was first grown by Rockledge Gardens (representing the 'RG' in the bamboo name) -- think they are located near your old house. I've read its mature height is around 15-20 feet. I've seen the canes listed as .5 inch to 1 inch on various sites. Rockledge lists it as 1 inch culms, 20 ft and upright (as opposed to semi-upright for gracilis). The American Bamboo Society's Bamboo Species List describes it as "less erect" (than textilis I suppose). They also say it is a variation of B textilis, so not gracilis. From a few photos I've seen it looks to have the larger leaves of B textilis giving it a shaggier green appearance from the more delicate gracilis.

Here's a bamboo comparison page from Rockledge Gardens I came across. http://www.rockledgegardens.com/pdf/bamboo.pdf

This variation is carried in California but not near me and I have seen a number of Florida nurseries list it. The ABS site has a link to nurseries carrying it across the U.S. No idea how the mature footprint compares to gracilis, whether it has a more pronounced leaf drop, or if it is thicker walled but Rockledge Gardens should be able to clarify the differences between the two since they grow both. I also wonder since it originated from B textilis if the rhizomes are larger than gracilis. If you check this one out, let us know what you find.

[WestCoastGal]

David, here are some photos of B textilis RG: http://www.bambooweb.info/ShowBambooPictures.php?Type=B&BooID=1086&Desc=&Loc=&Match=AND&Button=Search

It has a red tint at the nodes. That is different than gracilis which is blue green and whitish: http://www.bambooweb.info/ShowBambooPictures.php?Type=B&BooID=72&Desc=&Loc=&Match=AND&Button=Search

[Ben in Norcal]

Cool, it will make a nice comparison for anyone in norcal that is considering one of these. Are you 9a/b like us (cold hardy)?

I think I'm warmer than you, but not as warm as Jim. For sake of comparison, my lowest readings on my weather station in December 2013 and January 2015 (last two cold snaps) have been 30 degrees. So last two winters have been very mild/borderline 10a. I am up in the hills - down in Concord/Walnut Creek I did see some readings around 25 this year. It's amazing how much elevation helps.

[WestCoastGal]

You were definitely warmer than us in winter -- we are on valley floor pretty much at our house although thankfully not the lowest point around.

BTW since you mentioned you are growing B. lako, are you aware of a shorter Bambusa sp. New Guinea Black version? I just found this Florida bamboo website, Tropical Bamboo Nursery and Gardens, and they have some really cool, cold hardy/subtropical clumping bamboo there. Some shorter bambusa too. David, you might want to look thru their list. The sp New Guinea Black is on Page 5.

http://www.tropicalbamboo.com/tropical_list.asp?page=1

[Ben in Norcal]

That's exactly where I ordered my plants from. He has all of the proper certification to ship to California, so that is good. I did not see that "New Guinea Black" - but I am hoping I have room for the B. lako. I have a third of an acre up here, so have a bit of room...though I am starting to run out!!

[WestCoastGal]

That's a funny coincidence and good to know about Calif. shipping. I saw they shipped out West but didn't see a specific mention of Calif. Were you happy with the condition yours arrived in? We don't have much room left for planting but I wonder if it could handle a planter set up that could be frost cloth "cage" protected from our colder temps. Otherwise more expensive than I'd want to take a chance on. I do love the black canes.

We have a spot on our patio near the house that I'm having difficulty putting something there, gets full sun morning until mid afternoon during the summer and wonder if it could make it there. I also wonder about our low humidity. We do already have drips there but the air is very dry unlike Florida or even other parts of the SF Bay....the gracilis is doing well though I think. Apart from the stunning canes it has beautiful foliage...me thinking out loud and rambling.

[Alicehunter2000]

First you helped me design my pool, now you are giving me great info on bamboo....your the gift that keeps on giving !

Will check out all your suggestions when I get on a full sized screen. thanks.

[WestCoastGal]

Gee glad you think I helped out on the pool. Seeing how your house and yard turned out was a lot of fun and really nice of you to share. I know you've been looking at bamboo choices for a while. Wish we were further along in years with ours to comment on how it is to maintain it in a narrow path, but I do think it was probably the best choice for us.

[Alicehunter2000]

The RG looks pretty nice....different looking leaf. Going to be making some large reinforced concrete planters and expand into some other bamboos.

Right now thinking of B. chungii 'barballata"

B. Venticosa 'kimei'

Maybe arrow bamboo...but would definately restrict the latter 2 in a pot

[cycadjungle]

I had arrow bamboo in a 15 gallon container back in 1986. Didn't see it run under the pot and now uses up 300 feet along with the golden Hawaiian bamboo. The chungii might be a hair bit too tender unless you don't mind it burning to the ground and coming back in the spring. It's not as terrible as it sounds. They come back pretty well from the ground and it's hard to beat the blue color. I know they are pretty large, but the Kanapaha Wong Chuk is pretty awesome. I have a lot of the gracious. It's the perfect size, it's a tight clumper, and very cold hardy for us.

[Alicehunter2000]

Dang! ....can't let that one escape....runners even in pots are scary. That's kind of disappointing about Chungii...thought they were good to 21 degrees.

[cycadjungle]

WL more like 23-24, but don't you go down below 21 up there? I went down to 15 about 4 years ago.

[Alicehunter2000]

Most years it stays above 25. Two years ago (Polar Vortex)....was highly unusual, we dipped to 20 degrees for a couple of hours but stayed below 32 for almost 2 days! Last year we dipped very briefly to 21....just enough to screw some stuff up. I would classify it as a cold 9a here. Of course it would not be totally be unheard of to dip into the teens on rare occasion.....that would really suck.

Been trying to create a micro climate that would hopefully withstand such an event. Definitely don't need anymore die-back perennials or deciduous trees. Was hoping to use the bamboo as an evergreen canopy/windbreak for the yard in general.

Both Royal Bamboo and Gracilis survived with some, but not total, damage during the Polar Vortex year. They are definitely winners up here.

[Sandy Loam]

I don't have any bambusa chungii in my yard, but it must tolerate down to 17 degrees Fahrenheit (or lower!) if it has been around since the 1980s at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville, Florida. I seem to recall seeing about 3 big clumps of it there.

All of the bambusa being discussed here (B. Ventricosa, B. Textilis) are at Kanapaha Gardens, so they must be cold-hardy enough for AliceHunter2000. During the historic freeze of 2009-2010, some parts of Gainesville were hit with 17 degrees Fahnrenheit. I could be mistaken, but I understood that there were only two bamboos at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens which died as a result of that freeze event. Even those which died started growing juvenile culms again around the interior dead canes and, 2 years later, they looked normal again. None of the bamboos that died were among those mentioned in this PalmTalk thread.

[Alicehunter2000]

That's great to know....Tropical Bamboo Nursery has a couple of more that look promising:

Bambusa tuldoides cv 'Swollen Internode' AND Bambusa dolichomerithalla cv. 'Blue'

[Walter John]

great bamboo, i have a clump growing quite well now.

[Alicehunter2000]

Walt, how would you compare Bambusa dolichomerithalla cv. 'Blue' to Bambusa chungii 'barballata" ...... which would be the tighter clumper, bluer coloration, better grower etc. etc.?

Bambusa dolichomerithalla cv. 'Blue' appears to be more upright in form from the few pictures that are shown online....barballata appears to flair out at the top more?

[HurryUp&Grow]

On 5/8/2015, 9:26:46, WestCoastGal said:

AliceHunter was asking about Bambusa textilis var. gracilis (Slender Weaver's Bamboo) in another thread, and thought I'd share photos of the "hedge" that went in our yard back in August of 2013. We were looking for something in the 20-25 foot height range that would give us privacy from our neighbor's two-story house when we use our fireplace patio area. We wanted something that would be upright with fairly thin culms so removal would be easier. It was also important that it was an evergreen for year round privacy and color.

Looked pretty sparse at the end of summer but was told not to expect much this first year. Watering was set up on a drip system. We were experiencing a leaky pipe in the area so held off mulching that first year.

 

From fence to fireplace is apx. 53 inches. We wanted a stepping stone pathway behind the fireplace so allowed for about 23 inches for that. We'll be breaking off any shoots that pop up in an unwanted area and severing rhizomes when needed. Our plan will be to trim a certain amount of leaf growth near the bottom exposing the canes and making maintenance down near the ground easier hopefully. This is our first venture with bamboo so sure we'll learn from this.

Excellent thread. Thank you for taking the time to share and document the growth of your gorgeous gracilis.

I'm about to embark on the same project. Mind if I piggyback off your thread, WestCoastGal? Same variety, different locale (Sunrise Fl - Zone 10b)

 

 

Edited December 28, 2015 by HurryUp&Grow

[HurryUp&Grow]

[WestCoastGal]

Piggyback away! Besides I think it's more helpful to people to see multiple feedback from different people on the same plant in one thread. I think it will be nice to have a coast-to-coast comparison. 

So is that your new bamboo coming home? Nice! How many plants will you be adding and do you know how old it is? I'm pretty sure they probably told you this but plant it ASAP as it's not good for the roots to dry. Look forward to seeing yours in the ground.

BTW when I was researching what to purchase I spent a good deal of time on Tropical Bamboo's website despite being out of my area. Very helpful info. Kind of jealous you got to go to their nursery to walk around. We told our plant person what we wanted and they place the order and it was delivered to us since we were quite a distance away. Cost us extra for delivery to area but feel it was worth it to get this variety. I would have loved the personal walking tour of their nursery even though I already knew what we were going to order.

I guess it's probably time for an update photo of ours to show the growth through the summer/fall time frame.

[WestCoastGal]

Here's a few photos I grabbed this past month. The bamboo bed is on drip and we probably only fertilized twice this year. Our end plantings were from an older group and I can't wait until the younger middle section matures and evens the hedge out more. Driving me crazy with the gap! and why it's nice to buy all from the same age (we were buying very late in the season and happy to get what we did then). But as you can tell from the 2-year look back below, it has been growing and filling in nicely. We broke off/cut off some errant canes that weren't growing where we wanted. Very easy to simply break off when they've recently emerged. A bit more work when the canes are more mature. We've found it to be a very low maintenance variety so far. I'll come back and post a photo of the base so you can see how the canes have been coming in.

12/2015 and 11/2013:

  

Due to our warm fall, it pretty much has grown year round this year. Here we are waiting for the new leaves to emerge.

Close up of some of the B. textilis var. gracilis leaves.

 

HurryUp&Grow, I was looking at the leaves on the bamboo in the vehicle in your photo and wondering which variety you bought from Tropical. The leaves seem to be much larger than my var. gracilis. From their website it looks like they have the B textilis gracilis and B textilis 'RG' listed (both still different in characteristics than the var. gracilis I have). Love to see a closeup when you post photos. Small world, I had relatives that lived in Sunrise. How close to the Glades are you? Keep in mind the roots like drainage. You could create a berm if you need to situate them higher.

 

[HurryUp&Grow]

On 12/28/2015, 6:41:39, WestCoastGal said:

Piggyback away! Besides I think it's more helpful to people to see multiple feedback from different people on the same plant in one thread. I think it will be nice to have a coast-to-coast comparison.

So is that your new bamboo coming home? Nice! How many plants will you be adding and do you know how old it is? I'm pretty sure they probably told you this but plant it ASAP as it's not good for the roots to dry. Look forward to seeing yours in the ground.

BTW when I was researching what to purchase I spent a good deal of time on Tropical Bamboo's website despite being out of my area. Very helpful info. Kind of jealous you got to go to their nursery to walk around. We told our plant person what we wanted and they place the order and it was delivered to us since we were quite a distance away. Cost us extra for delivery to area but feel it was worth it to get this variety. I would have loved the personal walking tour of their nursery even though I already knew what we were going to order.

I guess it's probably time for an update photo of ours to show the growth through the summer/fall time frame.

I couldn't agree more! I've spent so much time lurking on this forum and many others. It's aggravating sifting through hundreds of threads about the same exact topic only to find conflicting information and fragmented discussions. Anywho...

I purchased 10 seven gallon pots ($55 ea). Some of them have 3 or 4 canes others just have one or two, but most have new shoots coming out. Most of them are approximately 12ft+ tall.

They'll be going along the fenceline to add privacy to my backyard. I have several neighbors in 2-story homes that overlook my patio and the wife find's it hard to enjoy the pool when she feels she has an active audience (not sure why she thinks everybody's interested in watching her use the pool but that's not a battle worth waging).

We have 1/4 acre and I really had my heart set on some of the thicker varieties (culm thickness of 2 inches+) but they all seem to top out at like 40 - 50 ft tall and although we don't have any telephone wires, I live in an HOA and houses are packed in pretty tight. I think something that tall would just look out of place. The max height of Graceful Bamboo should be about 20ft so I think that'll fit with the rest of the tree lines. 

I'm most fascinated by pictures that document growth. There's just so much more to growth than a single measurement can show. I'm going to try photographing weekly growth once it's put in the ground. I'm hoping at the end I can throw the pictures into a gif file and, like a flip book, show a 12 month animation of growth. If it's any good, maybe I can carry that forward to year 2.

This is my first real experience with Bamboo and from what I've read, it seems year 1 is establishment and acclimation and year two is where the action happens. Either way I don't know what to expect and I'm super pumped to be working on the next phase of bringing paradise to my backyard. 

 

 

 

Should I rip out the Coconut palm or leave him? I wouldn't toss him out in the trash, just relocate to another part of the yard. He's right in the path of where I'll be planting my row of gracilis and because this area of the yard gets mostly shade I'm thinking the bamboo will only contribute to the shade and make it harder on this palm. 

 

 

Has anyone experimented with flowering vines and bamboo? I wanted to try seeing what Pink Jasmine would do if given the chance to climb up my bamboo. Why can't my privacy screen smell nice too? My only fear is that it'll choke out the bamboo. 

I also have blue pea vine which puts out these really pretty blue flowers and thought that would be cool as well. 

 

(not my photo - just showing to give context)

Edited December 30, 2015 by HurryUp&Grow

[cycadjungle]

I originally got my gracilis from Robert as well. Figure on them being more like 25- 30ft. I have some 25 gallon pot with about 20 culms per pot and they are as tall as the oak tree they are next to. You may want to use a barrier on your neighbor's side, at least. If you centered them in that area, in 5 years they will be trying to grow into your soffits and so close to the property line that you would have to maintain them from his property.

These plants are bare in the lower area. As long as you don't let the vines grow all up into the leaves, they would be perfect if kept lower than 10 feet.

I would move the palm. It will be way shady.

[HurryUp&Grow]

We left the palm for now. I'll probably pull it out and relocate at a later date. Thanks for the feedback. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bazza]

^^^HUG^^^

Were it me - I would have brought your Bamboo out further away from the fence. I realize 'Gracilis' has a smaller footprint than many other varieties, but it will still need room to flourish and you will want room to move around your clumps for maintenance purposes.

A job I did using 7 gal. 'Gracilis' with date stamps....planted in April 2014 and last pic was taken in September 2015 so that's 17 months apart. I was very pleased with the progress. My pics only show the southern property line but I also had the same line of Bamboo planted along the opposite side so the whole backyard essentially was enclosed. Irrigation was via drip tubing (Netfim/Rainbird) and of course I fertilized the Bamboo a couple times during that 17 month span. I do use 'Gracilis' on most of my landscape projects because of it's small footprint and also it's just a very beautiful variety!

 

Edited January 5, 2016 by Bazza

[HurryUp&Grow]

On 1/4/2016, 7:35:31, Bazza said:

^^^HUG^^^

Were it me - I would have brought your Bamboo out further away from the fence. I realize 'Gracilis' has a smaller footprint than many other varieties, but it will still need room to flourish and you will want room to move around your clumps for maintenance purposes.

A job I did using 7 gal. 'Gracilis' with date stamps....planted in April 2014 and last pic was taken in September 2015 so that's 17 months apart. I was very pleased with the progress. My pics only show the southern property line but I also had the same line of Bamboo planted along the opposite side so the whole backyard essentially was enclosed. Irrigation was via drip tubing (Netfim/Rainbird) and of course I fertilized the Bamboo a couple times during that 17 month span. I do use 'Gracilis' on most of my landscape projects because of it's small footprint and also it's just a very beautiful variety!

Nice photos! Ok, so these are planted north of Orlando? How far apart did you plant?

Mine are planted about 3.5 ft from the fence and about the same distance apart. The fence boarders a sidewalk and then a roadway. If I had more space, I would have loved to plant them farther away from the fence but I just don't have the acreage. It's a really tight fit I think.

The yard "necks-down" near where the coconut palm is planted to yield a total width of only like 12 feet wide. Less 3 feet for the planted bamboo, that's 9 feet and even less if you measure from the mulch line. The topsoil is tapered away from the house to a ~15º angle, so I'm hoping that will help make it lean AWAY from my home, but I imagine the Gracilis will still fill out and still touch the house some. I'm probably going to have lots of trimming to do once they reach maturity. But that's okay, I enjoy yard work. On the plus side, at least I can walk around the opposite side of the fence and trim from the sidewalk. 

The plan was to shave everything below the fence line to expose the beautiful culms. Anything above would be left alone (unless it gets too close to the house). 

Edited January 6, 2016 by HurryUp&Grow

[Bazza]

7 hours ago, HurryUp&Grow said:

Nice photos! Ok, so these are planted north of Orlando? How far apart did you plant?

Mine are planted about 3.5 ft from the fence and about the same distance apart. The fence boarders a sidewalk and then a roadway. If I had more space, I would have loved to plant them farther away from the fence but I just don't have the acreage. It's a really tight fit I think.

The yard "necks-down" near where the coconut palm is planted to yield a total width of only like 12 feet wide. Less 3 feet for the planted bamboo, that's 9 feet and even less if you measure from the mulch line. The topsoil is tapered away from the house to a ~15º angle, so I'm hoping that will help make it lean AWAY from my home, but I imagine the Gracilis will still fill out and still touch the house some. I'm probably going to have lots of trimming to do once they reach maturity. But that's okay, I enjoy yard work. On the plus side, at least I can walk around the opposite side of the fence and trim from the sidewalk. 

The plan was to shave everything below the fence line to expose the beautiful culms. Anything above would be left alone (unless it gets too close to the house). 

For the record, I don't want to come across as telling anyone how far apart to plant - or what spacing to use. Ultimately, it's your property and you should plant however you wish.

That said.....my philosophy is always to provide LOTS and LOTS of space for plants to achieve their ultimate growth habit. In some limited cases pruning is necessary - no matter what. But as a rule, I don't want to be forced to prune because of poor planning.

You said your plan is to maintain bare canes to fence height, which will help reduce foliage and branching congestion - but - I still feel you are in for extra work that could be avoided by bringing them out from the fence a couple more feet. Respectfully, that may conflict with how much lawn area you want, but for me, it's a beneficial trade off.

Your spacing between plants is not as much a maintenance issue as the spacing from the fence. I usually plant mine no closer than 5' on center but prefer to go more like 7' or more apart. Several factors would influence one's decision...how fast you want everything to fill in....how large the plants are to begin with. But remember ultimately under ideal care, they all eventually reach their normal growth habit.

I should also say that when I use them for a privacy planting all in a row, sometimes the spacing is determined by how much length I'm working with - I will fudge by a foot or so to get the right # of plants in there (I prefer odd numbers) or to get the first and last plant's location in the right place. So every job is different but I try to maintain 5-8' spacing as a rule of thumb.

Hope this helps and please don't let my comments interfere with your own philosophy...there's no single "right" way to plant! :)

[HurryUp&Grow]

1 hour ago, Bazza said:

For the record, I don't want to come across as telling anyone how far apart to plant - or what spacing to use. Ultimately, it's your property and you should plant however you wish.

That said.....my philosophy is always to provide LOTS and LOTS of space for plants to achieve their ultimate growth habit. In some limited cases pruning is necessary - no matter what. But as a rule, I don't want to be forced to prune because of poor planning.

You said your plan is to maintain bare canes to fence height, which will help reduce foliage and branching congestion - but - I still feel you are in for extra work that could be avoided by bringing them out from the fence a couple more feet. Respectfully, that may conflict with how much lawn area you want, but for me, it's a beneficial trade off.

Your spacing between plants is not as much a maintenance issue as the spacing from the fence. I usually plant mine no closer than 5' on center but prefer to go more like 7' or more apart. Several factors would influence one's decision...how fast you want everything to fill in....how large the plants are to begin with. But remember ultimately under ideal care, they all eventually reach their normal growth habit.

I should also say that when I use them for a privacy planting all in a row, sometimes the spacing is determined by how much length I'm working with - I will fudge by a foot or so to get the right # of plants in there (I prefer odd numbers) or to get the first and last plant's location in the right place. So every job is different but I try to maintain 5-8' spacing as a rule of thumb.

Hope this helps and please don't let my comments interfere with your own philosophy...there's no single "right" way to plant!

I'm just here for the exchange of ideas and information.  

In no way do I perceive your views as oppressive, so no offense is taken. 

I'm definitely no expert, hell i'm a new homeowner and have only had my own yard for a year. Totally new to gardening and palms. I'm just trying to be a sponge for information and 3ft spacing was what the guy at Tropical Bamboo told us would be ideal since my wife is very anxious to get a screen in ASAP. She's looking out the window each day asking where is it?

This is our first bamboo experience and I was nervous about planting it too close to the house. I don't know what age basic maturity is reached or how wide the radius will be at that point in time. It's hard to judge from the pictures I've seen.

Edited January 7, 2016 by HurryUp&Grow

[arbor]

Question:  I am planning on planting a clump in my garden, then bending it over to another tree to make a "living arbor."  Do you think this would work, with this variety?  Thank you very much.