Bamboo

[The Last Standing Knight]

Having just come into some property with a decrepit old fence, I was wondering about what my dad used to call "fishing pole plants" . It is thin bamboo with all the durability of its bigger brother. It is considered a nuisance plant around here and grows wild and quick. I had an idea and wanted to bounce it off of some of you. Your thoughts on using this as natural fencing when set up properly.

 

[Baxter6551]

You have to be sure to put a barrier in the ground to keep it in check. We didn't and it continues to spread year after year. It makes a great natural fence.

 

[SMSgt]

Don't! Bamboo is a grass and spreads underground. Very difficult to control. If you want a bamboo fishing pole, go buy one. Ther are many fast-growing plants far more suitable for any privacy concerns.

 

[Hair Trigger]

"Set up properly" ???

Bamboo is a grass and grows the same way, spreading as rapidly as kudzu does. Bamboo can grow several feet a day in the right climate and once it gets established is hard to control. There has to be a better choice for fencing than bamboo. I'm not sure how it responds to herbicides like Glyphosate for eradication. It is a really hardy plant.

 

[DixieRanger]

You will regret planting bamboo as a natural fence. It has runners underground to pop up another new plant. Of course this takes time but will grow profusely. Worked at Agricultural Extension and recall an instance of a guy dug a trench and filled with concrete 6in. wide and 1ft. deep to keep neighbors bamboo from encroaching onto his property.

 

[The Last Standing Knight]

Thanks! You all answered my question. I already have enough problems with the place looking like triple canopy jungle as is.

 

[rwsmith]

Boxwood makes a great hedge.

 

[DWalt]

There are several bamboo "forests" within a mile from my home. And that is in a residential area. It does make an impenetrable fence. Some of the stalks must be over ten feet high.

 

[Phenix]

"Set up properly" ???

Bamboo is a grass and grows the same way, spreading as rapidly as kudzu does. Bamboo can grow several feet a day in the right climate and once it gets established is hard to control. There has to be a better choice for fencing than bamboo. I'm not sure how it responds to herbicides like Glyphosate for eradication. It is a really hardy plant.

I watched a documentary years ago about various skyscraper construction projects. One of the segments covered a job site in Asia. Thailand, Hong Kong, or someplace like that.
Most of the scaffolding was very large bamboo shafts 3" in diameter and larger tied together with lots of windings of some kind of small rope or other plant material. Was amazing.

 

[glee1]

Having just come into some property with a decrepit old fence, I was wondering about what my dad used to call "fishing pole plants" . It is thin bamboo with all the durability of its bigger brother. It is considered a nuisance plant around here and grows wild and quick. I had an idea and wanted to bounce it off of some of you. Your thoughts on using this as natural fencing when set up properly.

Only use "clumping" rather than "running" bamboo unless you want a permanent hobby of keeping it controlled. Personal experience.

 

[Phenix]

Only use "clumping" rather than "running" bamboo unless you want a permanent hobby of keeping it controlled. Personal experience.

How deep do the roots go?

 

[chief38]

You will NEVER be able to contol Bamboo for very long! As a matter of fact, many communities, county's and towns have outlawed it as an invasive species. Barrier walls don't really work for long. Getting rid of it forever is next to impossible! NOT a good option IMHO - just a CURSE!

 

[gwpercle]

I ,ve been fighting the stuff around my house for the last 52 years ... I can't cut it back fast enough ... a man with a Back Hoe was hired to dig it up and go three feet deep to get the roots ... that has worked pretty good fore about 4 years now ... But ... Like the little girl in the movie said ... " They're Back ! "

You don't need / want cane fishing poles that bad !
It's a gift that justn't know when to freaking stop !
Gary

 

[Rustyt1953]

Water it and go into the rolling paper business.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

In Bangkok Have seen multistory bamboo scaffolding. Tied together.
Recall seeing a Hod Carrier Lady going up one.
Barefooted, wearing the traditional long skirt.
Carrying Mortar up the scaffolding.
She was wearing a large Gold Chain. The links were almost pencil sized.
The Thai Money has failed so often that Working Folks tend to keep their wealth in Gold.
She would have a Regular Gold Dealer who she exclusively dealt with.
If she needed money she would exchange her chain for a smaller one and money.
Based on the size of hers, she had apparently been trading up.
Yes, we have some Thai Gold, but none that large.
Smaller chains and that bracelet which my Ladies don't like to wear.

 

[wood714]

Clumping bamboo won't spread. I've read you can use running bamboo as long as you dig a trench and wall it with steel or aluminum 4 foot deep where you want the bamboo to grow.

Also read running bamboo can grow under driveways and roads. No clue if it's true.

 

[Rule3]

There are a gazillion variety of bamboo. As mention clumping is not that hard to control.
Here is just some of them.

20 Types Of Bamboo Varieties For Yards, Gardens, Decks And Indoors - AMERICAN GARDENER

Overview Bamboo is a member of the grass family Poaceae, with species that vary in height from 6 inches to 120 feet.The plants’ woody stems, known as culms, is usually hollow and divided into sections, or internodes, by visible joints or nodes. The upper nodes grow buds, which develop into...

americangardener.net

 

[ISCS Yoda]

For years, my neighbors across the alley had no fence, just a several-foot-thick bamboo wall. It worked well. Then the new neighbors tried to remove it. Hmmmmm................removal is NOT working!!!

 

[soFlaNative]

Google Areca palms, should grow well in SE Tex.

 

[BigBoy99]

Put in pyracantha plants. They are ideal for a security hedge as they have many long thorns on the bushes.