Phyllostachys is a genus of bamboo. Several species in that genus are considered "cold-hardy". Two of the species are considered both cold-hardy AND very tolerant of wet soils. Those two species are Phyllostachys heteroclada (horizontal branches) and P. parvifolia (small leaves).
Many people, especially those who favor native plant species HATE bamboo because it is invasive and its height and vigor steamroller native plants.
On the other hand, bamboo is very efficient at turning sunshine into structural materials and it sinks a lot of organic matter into the soil. It also provides prime cover for sheltering wildlife in the winter. A small-holder could do worse than to have a patch of bamboo that they harvest aggressively to keep its footprint in-check.
Southern Belle requested some bamboo plants to provide a visual screen between the busy road and their house. Consequently, she is about to receive a gift of three different species and we are going to have a horse-race. The third species is probably Phyllostachys aureosulcata which is what is growing in my yard.
The plan is to plant P. parvifolia in the most eastern position, the P. heteroclada in the middle position and the P. aureosulcata in the western position. The tops will probably get killed every five years due to "test winters" but will still screen the yard even when dead.
You of course know what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteLast year I visited an old guy who planted a food forest 30 years ago in the southwest
Someone gave him some bamboo.
When I was there all the fruit trees were dead. Most of his oak collection and some pines which were around the outside of his property were dead or struggling.
As he got older he was not able to keep the bamboo under control and it was destroying his orchard. We walked through paths hacked in the bamboo forest looking at his dead and dying trees.
He stressed he wished he had never planted it.
I took that as good advice.
Think long and hard about planting bamboo. Once you do you become a slave to it keeping it under control.
ReplyDeleteA friend not far from the coast of Maine has been working hard to control bamboo in her yard and gardens. Don’t know if she planted it or inherited it. Cut back to the ground, cover with heavy cardboard and mulch heavily over the cardboard.
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