In order to protect himself from a very tall neighbour, Mr. I. was looking for a plant with an upright habit, capable of growing quickly without taking up too much space on the ground. At first, if he had not been alerted to the very invasive nature of this plant, he would have chosen bamboo. But after a lot of research, that’s what he finally did… Rightly so.
Precious bamboo
Bamboo is one of the very few plants whose vertical habit allows it to reach important heights (up to 7 to 8 m in temperate climate) without occupying a very large surface on the ground, while ensuring an opaque and persistent vegetation. It is thus a very useful plant to dissimulate the plunging vis-a-vis without encumbering too much the garden.
Damn rhizomes
Unfortunately for them, bamboos have a reputation of being extremely invasive plants. And it’s a fact, their vigorous tracer roots can quickly colonize the surroundings and shamelessly invade lawns and beds. Extraordinarily powerful, the rhizomes are capable of damaging basement walls or spinning under their foundations before reappearing at the neighbor’s. Once their spread is established, they are very difficult to eradicate and their implantation requires the constraining installation of an anti-rhizome barrier.
A special species
It is mainly the bamboos from the Phyllostachys species that pose this kind of problem. On the other hand, there is a very wise but less known category of bamboos, the Fargesias. Non-invasive, their clumping root ball is made up of a very dense root system, which forms a compact non-tracking clump.
Their stems are generally thinner and less decorative, the branches less long and their general appearance is reminiscent of reed or cane.
Time to choose
After his discovery, Mr. I. turned to Fargesia robusta “Asian Wonder”, an amazing sturdy bamboo with very thin stalks (1 to 2 cm in diameter) but capable of climbing up to 5 m in height, provided that it does not lack water. Its long and dense foliage gives it great screening qualities. Very good choice !