Bamboo

Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen grasses of the subfamily Bambusoideae. They are found mainly across Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. As such, they are a botanically varied group though to the gardener are treated in a very similar manner differing in their height, stem colour and invasiveness.

If used appropriately, bamboos are a valuable architectural plant in the garden, their style is relatively rare in that there are not many plants with so many leaves that size and shape at that height, so they make a good contrast to many other garden plants.

Very broadly, bamboos fit into two groups, small spreading bamboos up to about 1m (3ft) tall and taller, clump forming bamboos 2m+ (7ft+). This latter group are generally less leafy than the smaller ones, more of the canes are visible and the leaves are smaller. There are a number of the taller varieties that have canes of different colours from shades of yellow to blue/green, red and black.

Bamboos can be rather fussy about where they want to grow, even within a garden. They do best with some sun, though not more than a few hours a day, they like a moist soil or at least little root competition. If your soil is not reliably moist or is not very moisture retentative, then they may do better as a specimen plant in an open semi-shaded position. If they are kept too dry or have too much direct sun, there is a tendency for some of the leaves to start to dry out making them look a little sorry for themselves.

In the right place however, they will be problem free and very elegant with it. My approach is to grow a new one on in a large container then split it into three before trying each in a different place. If less than ideally placed, they will still survive but not look at their best.

The invasiveness of bamboos is often exaggerated and in Britain, it is unlikely that this will be a problem, large stands of bamboo that appear to have "taken over" are usually the result of many years of neglect. If you want to grow one of the more vigorously spreading kinds, use a large container or dig a very large planting hole and line with a non-perishable barrier to restrict the spread if you are concerned.

The large mature sizes of bamboos are unlikely to be reached in Britain unless you have the right kind of microclimate for them, expect them to reach 1/2 to 2/3rds of the quoted mature height in this country.

Height and spread: 1-4m x 1m to indefinite, depends hugely on the species and situation

• Position: sun to shade, most generally do better in semi-shade and don't do well in too much of each. The more sun they have, the moister the soil needs to be.

• Soil: humous rich, moist but well drained is preferred. Humous rich and moist are the most important.

• Rate of growth: average to fast

• Other features: Can be used for informal hedging

• Hardiness: fully hardy

• Garden care:  Very little needed, a generous mulch will help, particularly in more difficult conditions. No real pests or diseases. Old canes die off naturally, cut these at ground level when they have dried out and use your own home-grown bamboo cane!

Uses - Architectural plant, specimen plant, informal hedge, lower growing species as ground cover