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landscape designCalifornia GardeningCacti & Succulents
finndian

What do plant in front a stand of clumping bamboo?

Paul F.
last year

I just cut the bamboo back from the short wall and topped it as a do every year. During renovations on my home I'd like decide what planting would go in the two recessed planters at the sidewalk. I get quite a bit of leaves falling all year round from the bamboo and the flax I had planted there couldn't handle the leaves falling into it. I did my best to detail it but it was getting to the point I needed to almost damage the flax to clean out all the bamboo leaves.

Yes, I have a gardener but he is a blow and go type. The remaining agave you can see were able to be blown clean.



Comments (5)

  • PRO
    Verdance Landscape Architecture
    last year

    As you discovered, the more crevices the plant has, the harder it will be to dislodge those bamboo sheaths. So I'd look to either very large/coarse-leaved plants like Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia species) or even a large trunk-forming succulent like Euphorbia ammak 'Variegata', or very feathery ones like Mahonia 'Soft Caress' or Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' that don't have enough leaf surface to trap the sheaths. Make sure you choose species that can handle the sun exposure there, including the glare off the white wall and the urban setting.


    The bamboo won't stop raining debris no matter what you plant, so you or your gardener might invest in a shop vacuum (with the narrow crevice tool attachment) to suction out debris from the Agave and other plants — much more effective than trying to blow it out.


    Also, topping bamboo really isn't an effective way to control debris. Bamboo doesn't grow like shrubs or trees; bamboo canes (or culms) are genetically predetermined to grow to a certain height -- say, 20' -- and then stop growing. Topping them creates that dense "witch's broom" of branchlets visible just below the cuts, which creates even more leaves and therefore more debris. It would be much more effective to cut out the old, mature culms at the base of the plant as the new ones grow in, allowing the new culms to reach their full height before cutting them out the following season.


    Good luck! We'd love to see photos of what you decide to do.

    Paul F. thanked Verdance Landscape Architecture
  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    last year

    Good point about the witches brooms. You can see them in the OP's photo. Rather spoils the elegance of the bamboo.

    Paul F. thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
  • Embothrium
    last year
    last modified: last year

    The extremely reduced leaf coverage your planting is actually displaying indicates a problem - maybe the droughts in recent years? Otherwise, the twiggy appearance it has also developed could indicate it has been blooming. If so, there will have been the same general kind of petal less flower spikes (and perhaps seeds present afterward) as produced by non-woody grasses.

    Paul F. thanked Embothrium
  • Paul F.
    Original Author
    last year

    There is a mountain view from my rooftop deck otherwise I'd let them do their thing full height. The hedge was just drastically cut back and the clumps and stumps around the perimeter dug out and removed. It always looks like I killed it when I cut out the outside layer of shoots although this is the most aggressive ever. Then it rained for a month right after. I think its ok.

    I plan putting a short wall on the other side... in the yard, at about bench height and backfilling the bamboo planter higher. After I've waterproof the front wall. I've been assured that covering the base of the bamboo with dirt will not hurt it. Is that right?

  • Paul F.
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I absolutely love the landscaping of this Lloyd Wright around the corner from my home. Can I put oversized cactus anywhere near bamboo with that kind of leaf drop?



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