2009-03 Non-Invasive Bamboo,Vancouver Sun

Rebecca van der Zalm calls it well-behaved bamboo. It is beautiful clumping bamboo that will grow as happily in a container as in the garden and can be used to created a simple, elegant privacy screen.

“ You don’t have to grow it in a pot, you can plant it in the ground and it won’t go anywhere, so it’s safe,” says van der Zalm, co-owner of Art’s Nursery in Surrey.

“ The beauty of this bamboo is that it grows to a manageable eight to 12 feet. You get a lot of great feathery foliage from a small clump.”

Some gardeners deliberately grow clumping bamboo in containers so they can move it to precisely the spot where it will be most effective.

But the big appeal is the noninvasiveness of this type of bamboos. “ It stays put and doesn’t give you a problem,” she says.

Here’s her guide to the best kinds of clumping bamboo for small or medium sized garden or for containers.

• Borinda angustissima: This narrow-growing bamboo reaches 18 to 24 feet, has a graceful vase shape and prefers part shade. Older canes can measure up to an inch in diameter.

• Borinda boliana: Similar to timber bamboo without the invasive rhizomes, this has new canes that are tinged with blue and turn shades of burgundy, depending on exposure to sun. It can grow up to 30 feet with canes up to two inches in diameter.

• Borinda maclureana: A very cold tolerant bamboo, being indigenous to the mountains of Tibet, this has canes that range f r o m p a l e g r e y t o v i b r a n t greens. Foliage is a bright chartreuse green. It grows to 12 feet.

• Fargesia denudata: A popular species, this is widely available in the nursery trade. It has tiny delicate leaves on light green canes and a gentle arching habit. It grows to 12 feet tall.

• Fargesia rufa: ( Sunset Glow) This does exceptionally well in coastal gardens. It has orange-red cane sheaths, and is noted for its dense foliage and quick growth. It is ideal for making a small screen or hedge in sun or shade, growing to eight feet.

• Thamnocalamus crassinodus: A graceful clumping bamboo that performs best in the shade. New canes emerge greyblue, turning burgundy, withlight sun exposure. It has delicate foliage and is slower to establish than other bamboos. It can grow 18 feet high.

For more info, call Art’s Nursery at 604-882-1201, ask for the Zalm.