Bamboo in containers?

MORPH3US

Hi folks,

The bottom of my garden is overlooked quite badly (damn new build houses) and so I would like to plant some bamboo and grow it quite tall as a natural screen.

Problem is we may move house in the next couple of years and I don't want to spend £30 x 5 or 10 plants and then move out and not be able to take with us...

So I was wondering if its feasible to grow in a big container or 10 and how big they would need to be to hold it.

Advice much appreciated.

M

conradmum

Most bamboo will grow well in containers as it's pretty vigorous stuff. In fact, it's a good idea to have it in containers to stop it spreading all over the garden (there are also clump-forming ones that won't do this).

There are different varieties that grow to different heights. How tall do you want it? This is going to affect the size of container. Bear in mind that if it's too tall it's going to be more easily blown over.

savemoney

Some bamboo can be a pain as it can spread so it is a good idea to have in pots

On GW last year they put some in soil and built a barrier to stop it spreading, think they used something on a roll they dug in, I seem to recall Bamboos roots are shallow

debtdesperado

I have bamboo in pots in my garden - I bought one £30 plant, split it into 3 and planted it in the biggest terracotta pots I could find - it's fine. This is it's third summer and it's lovely and bushy. The only thing is that it gets very thirsty in the summer, but if you sunk the pots in the ground am sure that wouldn't be a problem (mine stand on concrete)

alanobrien

I had a similar problem and potted mine up in the largest trugs i could get from B&Q.
i drilled a few holes in the bottom for drainage then dug them into the ground. nicely hidden from viiew and removable if i need them to be and relatively cost effective.

System

Some of the choice coloured stem varieties dont grow so quick, I have black stemmed still quite small after umpteen years. So look at any labels and gauge from relative prices.
Also as ano poster has mentioned pots need water and you only have to forget once - I have lost potted specimens to drought usually at times of year when you are not expecting to water. If you do splash out why not halve any that you buy that you want to keep, pot one half and plant the other. That way you are leaving something worthwhile - and can quite legitimately take the others.

mrs_baggins

I bought a bamboo a couple of years ago from a specialist bamboo nursery. the particular one I had could be quite happily grown in a container but she said it should be the biggest I can get- ideally at least 18" dep and square. Its been there 2 years and still looks fairly happy. They also suggested feeding it with the stuff you put on lawns to make it grow (but NOT the weed and feed stuff) every couple of weeks in the growing season. And like the other person said they drink a lot of water so never let them dry out. the wind can cause them to dry a lot as well

MORPH3US

DownTheGarden wrote: »

Some of the choice coloured stem varieties dont grow so quick, I have black stemmed still quite small after umpteen years. So look at any labels and gauge from relative prices.
Also as ano poster has mentioned pots need water and you only have to forget once - I have lost potted specimens to drought usually at times of year when you are not expecting to water. If you do splash out why not halve any that you buy that you want to keep, pot one half and plant the other. That way you are leaving something worthwhile - and can quite legitimately take the others.

Thanks everyone for the advice... :beer:

Is it easy to split them? How would I do this, just with a spade down the middle of the root ball or something?