Fast-growing clumping bamboo is the ideal hedging choice
The best plant in the world for a fast and beautiful hedge is clumping bamboo. With the right bamboo, you can screen out your single-storey neighbour in six months or a two-storey house in a mere 18 months.
Gracilis (Bambusa textilis gracilis) is the best bamboo for blocking out structures up to six metres in height. It will grow to six metres in just 18 months, but it can also be grown in a garden bed as narrow as 750mm wide.
If you have a three- or four-storey building next door, or you would like to establish an effective windbreak on acreage, Oldhamii (Bambusa oldhamii) is the right bamboo for you. It will need a garden bed of at least three metres in width and, with the right conditions, will grow to 12 metres in about three years. (The Oldhamii shown here, for example, blocked out a two-storey house in only 18 months and will still grow another six or so metres.)
Another great clumping bamboo for hedging is Malay dwarf variegated (Bambusa heterostachya variegated). It will only grow to three metres and attracts small birds such as finches and wrens, who love making their homes in a safe environment. Vivid green-and-white-striped leaves make for a very dense hedge.
If you prefer the look of green leaves, Chinese dwarf bamboo (Bambusa guangxiensis) looks very similar to the Malay dwarf variegated. It also provides a great small-bird habitat, grows up to three metres in height and is a very pretty — and popular — bamboo.
Clumping bamboo, such as Timor black (Bambusa lako), can also be used for screening alongside a driveway or for creating a great tunnel effect for an entranceway. And because bamboo generally requires about half as much trimming as most other types of hedges, it’s a relatively low-maintenance choice. There’s a clumping bamboo for any hedging situation — all you have to do is plant them at one- to two-metre centres for best effect.
To experience first-hand just how stunning a bamboo hedge can look, visit the display gardens at Bamboo Down Under, located in the Gold Coast hinterland. Relax in the Blue Bamboo Forest, swing on the loveseat and allow yourself to fall under the spell of the gentle sound of leaves rustling in the breeze. You might never want to leave!
To find Bamboo Down Under, take exit 57 on the M1 Pacific Motorway just south of Dreamworld, drive 9.3km along Tamborine-Oxenford Road and you’ll see the signs.
For your convenience, the nursery is open seven days a week, 9am to 5pm.
BAMBOO DOWN UNDER
930 Tamborine-Oxenford Road
Wongawallan Qld 4210
Tel: (07) 5573 1844
Website: www.bamboodownunder.com.au
