Bamboo Privacy Screen Care and Maintenance Insights

There are two groups of bamboo – the running bamboo and clumping bamboo. 

Bamboo plants can grow at an astonishing rate of 2 - 5cm in a day. In our experiment, we found out that the bamboo we monitored grow 1.43cm in Autumn.

The running bamboo plants grow horizontal underground stems (canes) called rhizomes. They are invasive.

When growing bamboo screens, always have in mind how you will maintain the plants when the need arises.

Garden bamboo privacy screen care insights

Here are three options for ensuring complete control over your garden hedging privacy screens so that the bamboo screens do not spread.

• Build Raised-base: The raised base will help you to spot the rhizome tips and trim them before the tips creep into the small gaps in the pavement or the neighbour’s side.

• Dig narrow trench 0.3m to 0.5m deep: The running bamboo rhizomes tend to grow on the top layer of the soil. As the name implies, the rhizomes are running horizontally, not deep into the soil. A narrow trench will help you to monitor the rhizomes and trim them as they grow out. The narrow trench acts as an open root barrier.

• Plant the bamboo in large pots: If you are growing bamboo plants for balcony privacy screening, plant them in large pots or containers. This is the best way to contain the bamboo.

Bamboo privacy screen maintenance

Also, the rhizomes do not grow deep into the soil like other deciduous plants with taproots do. Though the plants are tough to deal with, the privacy screens are maintainable.

If the running and clumping bamboos are left unchecked, they will encroach on other spaces, so it is important to keep them in check. 

These evergreen hardy plants need attention once or twice a year.

If you are growing a new bamboo plant or propagating them from seeds and cuttings, you will find this care guide useful. The guide provides handy tips for propagating bamboo successfully.

Grow bamboo in the right place

Always grow the running bamboo where you have control over them when they are growing.

As a rule of thumb, plant the bamboo at least a metre away from your neighbour’s boundary if there is no raised structure or root barrier.

This is an important space that will provide the access to the bamboo plants as they grow.

Here is an article about ‘how to control the running bamboo plants’ from invading the neighbour’s side. It also provides more information on planting hedging bamboo near patios, pavements and houses.

Related articles on Evergreen Outdoor Privacy Screen

Readers' note: This article is so long that we split it into several parts. Here are the related parts that you may also like to read:

• PART 1: EVERGREEN BAMBOO SCREENS FOR BALCONY AND TERRACE
• PART 2: FAST-GROWING EVERGREEN OUTDOOR PRIVACY SCREEN - ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW [WITH IMAGES]
• PART 3: HOW CLOSE TO THE BOUNDARY CAN YOU GROW BAMBOO PLANTS?
• PART 4: BAMBOO PRIVACY SCREEN CARE AND MAINTENANCE
• PART 5: HOW DOES A BAMBOO PLANT GROW? [VIDEO]