Bamboo Thinning Is Slow, Tedious, and in Hindsight, Needs to Be Done Much More Often

Here's a garden tip - be sure and thin your bamboo every year. I somehow skipped working on the bamboo altogether last year, and am I paying for it!

I have a narrow (or I try to keep it narrow, anyway) hedge of Fargesia robusta, a clumping bamboo that behaves very nicely. For a bamboo. It expands like an iris, pushing its clump slowly outward and growing congested (Maybe the species name "robusta" should have been a clue??)...it doesn't throw out runners, which is a relief. Yet it needs regular thinning, and I strip the leaves several feet up to reveal the beautiful rhythm of the canes.

Here's a look at the work in progress...slow progress...

You can see how thick the hedge has grown in this not-yet-culled area behind the artichokes - it looks as if it's bulging out into the garden...well, I guess it is bulging out into the garden. When it gets this congested, the delicate beauty of leaf and cane is lost in the thicket.

Here's a cut pile to strip down and save for stakes - you can see the pretty striped sheaths on the newly thinned out area.

Whew! Half done...time for a tea break...

 

Comments

[Gom]

Looks like I know what I'll be doing this weekend. I have a stand of Fargesia robusta and Chusquea culeou I haven't thinned out in a while. :)