A bamboo garden welcomes us as an evergreen oasis. Enjoy endless beauty, silence and relaxation and be one with nature. If you want to have such a paradise in your garden, you need to know which species are suitable and how you can make the bamboo garden easy to care for?
How do you create an easy-care bamboo garden?
An easy-care bamboo garden consists of clump-growing, evergreen and hardy species such as Fargesia or Borinda. These are suitable as solitary plants, potted or potted bamboo and fulfill all wishes for an easy-care garden - even on a small plot.
There are 47 genera with over 1300 species worldwide. Bamboo is not just bamboo and it is not just green either: the rhizome-forming flat-tube bamboo Phyllostachys has yellow-green stripes to matt black, depending on the variety. The variety of bamboo species and varieties is huge and is divided into these four groups:
- Dwarf bamboo up to 1.5 m high
- small bamboo 1.5 m to 3 m
- medium bamboo 3 m to 9 m
- Giant bamboo over 9 m
Which bamboo for which garden?
What role should bamboo play in the garden? Guardian, protector, shade provider or exotic eye-catcher? Bamboo plants fulfill many wishes. As a pot plant for terraces and balconies. In a pot as an ornamental plant. If you are planning a secluded garden, you can plant bamboo as a hedge. As a privacy screen for a cozy seat by the garden pond and not only there, but also outside the garden as an ornament and orchard in the aquarium.
Bamboo should not only be chosen based on location, soil conditions or its beauty. In addition to the individual growth behavior, what is particularly important is its winter hardiness and susceptibility to wind. For gardeners and hobby gardeners the two most important bamboo groups are:
- Phyllostachys, the flat cane bamboo
- Fargesia, the umbrella bamboo
In the mild winter climate, the flat-tube bamboo reaches heights of up to 9 meters and stalk thicknesses of up to 5 centimeters as a giant bamboo. Its delicate leaves with decorative stalks impress every garden owner. Phyllostachys vivax Aureocaulis, for example, is yellow with green longitudinal stripes. Phyllostaxgys nigra shows purple-brown to almost black markings on older stalks.
The umbrella bamboo tolerates drought better than other varieties. As a medium-sized bamboo, it reaches a height of up to 4 meters. Its picturesque overhanging crown provides shade. It only forms short rhizomes.
There are also the group of ground cover plants such as Sasa and Pleioblastus, which are only 1 meter high. Limit bamboo with a rhizome barrier because of its tendency to spread!Good to know: Rhizome-forming bamboos require significantly more care and space. They are less suitable for a small garden plot.
The clumpy growing species are particularly easy to care for, evergreen, hardy and can be shaped and cut as you wish. As a single solitary plant in the garden, as a potted or potted bamboo, they fulfill all wishes for an easy-care bamboo garden, even on a small plot. Only the bamboos of the genus Fargesia Garden Bamboo and Borinda are suitable for this.
The best conditions for an easy-care bamboo garden
Have you selected and purchased an easy-care and clumpy bamboo for your garden? Congratulations! Now you can get active in the garden. Prepare the optimal bamboo location accordingly. Dig a planting hole twice the size of the plant. Fill the drainage with expanded concrete or gravel to prevent waterlogging. Then mix the excavated soil 1:1 with special bamboo soil and fill it in. Pay attention to a pH value of 6.5. This is ideal for the growth of the bamboo.
After watering the root ball, you can plant the new bamboo. Finally, don't forget to water the bamboo well and water it with lime-free rainwater or energized bamboo water. In the next few weeks, the bamboo will also need regular water, possibly an organic bamboo fertilizer and some care so that it roots well. Only cut bamboo in spring before new growth!
Bamboo as a versatile garden plant
Bamboo can highlight what is beautiful as well as hide what is disturbing. There are hardly any limits to ideas and possible uses for bamboo:
- as a hedge plant it offers privacy and wind protection
- Structure provider for different garden areas
- creates an atmospheric atmosphere in the garden
- a green eye-catcher even in winter
- suitable as an easy-care ground cover
- creative plant for indoor and outdoor use
Depending on the type of bamboo, the plants are used individually or in combination with other plants as:
- Single solitary plant: interior and exterior design.
- Group planting: Bamboo plants as a grove offer a large-scale jungle feeling.
- Hedge: For evergreen, opaque privacy and wind protection.
- Edging: For spatial separation of garden areas.
- Background planting: contrast with other plants.
- Underplanting: Dense greenery under trees and bushes.
- Ground cover: easy-care, robust green area.
- Slope attachment: Through a dense rhizome network.
Tips & Tricks
Under neighboring law, bamboo is treated like an ornamental shrub. Therefore, adhere to the specified limit distances. Create a rhizome barrier for root-forming species!
