Zone 8 privacy hedge.

[RJ]

My folks have moved south from the bitter North East. They built a new house along lake Murray. However they need a privacy hedge from the neighbors. They're in there 80's so not looking for something that is going to take a decade or more to grow if you catch my drift . Was thinking perhaps some kind of clumping bamboo perhaps? this is really out of my wheelhouse of plants that I know and am comfortable recommending so I thought I would see what you pros would suggest.  Their proximity to the water I would say gives them a nice 8b microclimate. They have had a low of 30 this winter where I have seen 25 farther from the lake. 

 

Thanks

RJ 

Edited February 3, 2021 by RJ

[KDubU]

Bamboo would be your best bet. Sea breeze is one option, Bambusa malingensis. Another is Graceful, Bambusa textiles Gracilis. Both are nice for privacy hedges. How tall is the new house next door? 

[RJ]

24 minutes ago, KDubU said:

Bamboo would be your best bet. Sea breeze is one option, Bambusa malingensis. Another is Graceful, Bambusa textiles Gracilis. Both are nice for privacy hedges. How tall is the new house next door? 

Bambusa malingensis -35'... probably a bit smaller in our climate but still bigger then I was thinking. I was thinking perhaps 15' or so max. 

Bambusa textiles Gracilis 30' but looks to be smaller over all, this might do the trick. 

It actually a bit of woods behind the house but the folks kit some trees down down and now they can see the house in the winter. I will look to have my dad send me a picture. 

Thank you for the input so far. 

 

[Merlyn]

I have a few Bambusa and Dendrocalamus that I planted last spring here in the Orlando area.  Many of them won't survive a zone 8, but if the lows at their house are in the mid 20s, that opens up a lot of options.  If you need hardiness to 20F and no more than around 15-20' then some options are:

Bambusa Tuldoides "Swollen Internode" - 15F hardy 18' tall 2.5" diameter "Buddha Belly" bamboo for colder temps.  I have one but it's still only around 8-10' tall.

Bambusa Maligensis "Seabreeze" is 35-55' but very dense.  As you said, it might be too tall. 

Bambusa Eutoldoides Viridi-Vittata "Asian Lemon" - 25' max 1" diameter 21F hardy.  This is my fastest grower and is about 12-14' and VERY dense in about 10 months.  I'm not sure where it would max out in SC

Bambusa Chungii "Barbellata" or "Baby Blue" is 21F and maxes out at around 20-25'.  I'm not sure if it would do a good hedge density at ground level.

Bambusa Multiplex types are 12F rated and ones like "Golden Goddess" or "Alphonse Karr" could work.  I think Golden Goddess is suppose to max out at 12' and be super dense.

There are probably a lot more, but I was shopping for "medium height" of 20-40' tall.  I'd check out Tropical Bamboo, they have a TON of bamboo, ship quick and their prices are good.  Their listings are generally accurate on size/hardiness/etc. 

[RJ]

Meryln, thanks for the suggestions. I’ll take a look at them when I get home. In the meantime this is their back yard, the woods are a natural preserve/easement that will stay wooded, but as you can see the houses in the back can be seen and they would like to block this. 

Edited February 3, 2021 by RJ

[KDubU]

Bamboo would cover that easily in 2-3 yrs depending on the size you plant. I would go with Seabreeze but as Merlyn points out Asian Lemon is really nice too. Based on your parents ages and you wanting something quick, I would go with 15g sizes or above (think next is 25g). This means larger size to plant but should grow in nicely. Does this area have sun at all as many Bamboo like that but there are some that will grow in part shade.

[RJ]

12 minutes ago, KDubU said:

Bamboo would cover that easily in 2-3 yrs depending on the size you plant. I would go with Seabreeze but as Merlyn points out Asian Lemon is really nice too. Based on your parents ages and you wanting something quick, I would go with 15g sizes or above (think next is 25g). This means larger size to plant but should grow in nicely. Does this area have sun at all as many Bamboo like that but there are some that will grow in part shade.

Yes, that photo is looking north, the house is single story so should get good sun. Where can I get larger bamboo sizes? It's not sold up here for the most part. I don't mind taking a drive though. That back lot line is probably 70' across. The photo doesn't show the west (left) corner. Being clumping bamboo how far apart should they be planted? 

 

Edit: Asian Lemon looks like it might be a little too tender to try. 21 is a 9a plant. 

Edited February 3, 2021 by RJ

[amh]

The clumping bamboos are a great idea, but you may consider some native evergreens as well.

[RJ]

46 minutes ago, amh said:

The clumping bamboos are a great idea, but you may consider some native evergreens as well.

Thanks for the input. I have live oaks, holley's and such the issue I noted to above is time. My folks being older would like something that they can enjoy sooner rather than later. Most of the evergreen stuff is pretty slow in comparison. 

[Merlyn]

If you routinely see temperatures into the low 20s, then something like Asian Lemon is probably a bad idea.  You'd probably be better off with one of the Multiplex, Textilis or other types.  They aren't great for sound damping due to the fine leaves, but they are good for a visual block.  Here is a good search engine with photos, minimum temps and heights:

https://www.bambooweb.info/SearchBambooPlants.php

 

[Merlyn]

If you were thinking evergreen as a possibility, there are some really fast growing ones.  Thuja "Green Giant" is a zone 5-9 one and supposed to grow 2-3' per year.  I read that they "brown" some in winter, but I don't know if they do that in zone 8.

Boo Nut is a grower in Texas and has a pretty good list of options too: http://www.boonut.info/bamboo.html

He says Asian Lemon is supposed to grow to 35 feet and good for 15F, but I don't recall reading that elsewhere.  Bambooweb has it at 25' max and 21F hardiness.  It may also be a difference between saying "some damage at xxxx degrees" versus "dies at xxxx degrees."  My Bambusa Lako took 50% leaf damage at 35F and frost, but didn't take any additional damage at 28F and frost...and it's regrown most of the damaged leaves even in the middle of winter.  So if you like the size/shape of a bamboo it may be worth some additional research to see what they actually mean by hardiness.

[RJ]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

If you were thinking evergreen as a possibility, there are some really fast growing ones.  Thuja "Green Giant" is a zone 5-9 one and supposed to grow 2-3' per year.  I read that they "brown" some in winter, but I don't know if they do that in zone 8.

Boo Nut is a grower in Texas and has a pretty good list of options too: http://www.boonut.info/bamboo.html

He says Asian Lemon is supposed to grow to 35 feet and good for 15F, but I don't recall reading that elsewhere.  Bambooweb has it at 25' max and 21F hardiness.  It may also be a difference between saying "some damage at xxxx degrees" versus "dies at xxxx degrees."  My Bambusa Lako took 50% leaf damage at 35F and frost, but didn't take any additional damage at 28F and frost...and it's regrown most of the damaged leaves even in the middle of winter.  So if you like the size/shape of a bamboo it may be worth some additional research to see what they actually mean by hardiness.

I'll take a look at boonut. The other issue I'm noticing as many of these smaller (sub 20") clumping bamboos don't like the SE heat and humidity. They seem to be more tailored for the PNW type of climate.  Many of these look like they will fit the bill but upon further research they seem ill equipped for our summers. 

 

I'm not a particular fan of Thuja's in general. Some Brown around here I have noticed but It's certainly not from the cold. I don't know what causes some to do that while others situated nearby don't display it. 

 

Thanks once again! Everyone has been a great help. 

[Merlyn]

Yeah, I decided against Thujas and other pine types because they have a habit of randomly dying.  Of course I planted a hedge of Viburnum and have had 2 shrubberies croak for no apparent reason.  Now I've got gaps in my hedgeline...

For hardiness I *think* that most of the Bambusa and Dendrocalamus are fine with SE heat and humidity.  If Tropical Bamboo in Miami is propagating them then they can probably take it.  I did read about some cold hardy types that don't like sweltering humidity, but many of those were runners like Pseudosasa Japonica.  I haven't looked into the other shorter ones, since I can grow B. Vulgaris Wamin "Buddha Belly" here. 

[RJ]

So revisiting this thread. Any have any good suggestions on where to order bamboo?

 

 

[KDubU]

13 hours ago, RJ said:

So revisiting this thread. Any have any good suggestions on where to order bamboo?

 

 

One is https://www.tropicalbamboo.com/Default.asp

Depends also on whether you want it shipped to you or pickup. I ordered some from Tropical Bamboo and they are doing well.

I also drove down to the Orlando area and picked a bunch of larger ones here:

https://www.ocoeebamboofarm.com/

I am forgetting the guys name who runs this place but he is cool and has a lot of various bamboos. Love visiting because there are just massive a rows of bamboo everywhere.

 

[RJ]

2 hours ago, KDubU said:

One is https://www.tropicalbamboo.com/Default.asp

Depends also on whether you want it shipped to you or pickup. I ordered some from Tropical Bamboo and they are doing well.

I also drove down to the Orlando area and picked a bunch of larger ones here:

https://www.ocoeebamboofarm.com/

I am forgetting the guys name who runs this place but he is cool and has a lot of various bamboos. Love visiting because there are just massive a rows of bamboo everywhere.

 

Thanks for the reply. I’ll actually be in the Stuart FL area soon. Do you happen to know of any in that area? Thanks for the links 

[RJ]

Looks like tropical bamboo isn’t too far actually from Stuart, so I might be able to swing down there. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by RJ

[Allen]

4 hours ago, RJ said:

Looks like tropical bamboo isn’t too far actually from Stuart, so I might be able to swing down there. 

If you want bamboo look for a local place and get their advice.  While you can order online and get small plants for reasonable prices you can get full size plants from a local bamboo farm.  These bamboo can be 10-30 or more feet delivered.  

Personally I don't think clumping bamboo will do well there and you probably don't want 80 year olds messing with running bamboo.  I'd put in something like oakleaf holly and if you have room stagger in Emerald green arborvitae

Edited March 3, 2022 by Allen

[RJ]

2 hours ago, Allen said:

If you want bamboo look for a local place and get their advice.  While you can order online and get small plants for reasonable prices you can get full size plants from a local bamboo farm.  These bamboo can be 10-30 or more feet delivered.  

Personally I don't think clumping bamboo will do well there and you probably don't want 80 year olds messing with running bamboo.  I'd put in something like oakleaf holly and if you have room stagger in Emerald green arborvitae

They’re really aren’t local ones around. Bamboo is pretty taboo around here because all that’s been planted is runners and they take over. After seeing @TonyDFW bamboo a few years ago it really got the gears grinding. What makes you think it won’t do well here? 
 

My folks are actually looking at some arborvitae to have installed, I’m not sure what variety but I’ll pass on the info 

[Allen]

44 minutes ago, RJ said:

They’re really aren’t local ones around. Bamboo is pretty taboo around here because all that’s been planted is runners and they take over. After seeing @TonyDFW bamboo a few years ago it really got the gears grinding. What makes you think it won’t do well here? 
 

My folks are actually looking at some arborvitae to have installed, I’m not sure what variety but I’ll pass on the info 

Clumping bamboo won't grow here in TN and I looked at a place in clover, SC and they don't seem too keen on it.  I suggest you call them.  Clumping bamboo is finicky in the Southeastern US.   https://www.charlottebamboo.com/#contact

Bamboo places are all around they are not sold at local nurseries.  The plants you can buy local will be years ahead of online ordered ones. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Allen

[RJ]

11 minutes ago, Allen said:

Clumping bamboo won't grow here in TN and I looked at a place in clover, SC and they don't seem too keen on it.  I suggest you call them.  Clumping bamboo is finicky in the Southeastern US.   https://www.charlottebamboo.com/#contact

Bamboo places are all around they are not sold at local nurseries.  The plants you can buy local will be years ahead of online ordered ones. 

Yes it is finicky, lots of varieties don’t like our humidity and heat. Thanks for the link. Clover is notably colder then I am, nearly 3x the elevation with no moderating bodies of water nearby. 
 

Areas south of Columbia, SC and east of the I-95 corridor should be able to grow these bamboos with little to no winter damage. For the rest of South Carolina and the Charlotte region these bamboos will perform best situated in a protected south facing location that receives full sun.

I’ll give them a call and see what they think. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[D Palm]

Viburnum is a great hedge in the south, check out the diff species, I grow the sweet viburnum. They are wicked fix hedge growers. 
 

If you select bamboo, make sure your fully educated on the species and it doesn’t become invasive or a hassle down the road.

[Merlyn]

I use Sweet Viburnum as a hedgeline too, but you have to be careful about the species and low temps.  I think Odoratissum is good for zone 7, but I don't know the defoliation temperature.  It would be better to have it not defoliate in December, and be a bare mass of sticks until March.  That doesn't make for a good hedge.    I *think* Odoratissimum is ok to about 20F, but Suspensum is a few degrees less hardy.