I have always thought that it would be a good idea to plant a clump of bamboo in the garden so that I could have a handy supply of canes. But that is to ignore the attraction of bamboo as a plant which can make a great addition to the landscape. You do have to take care with the variety you choose since some types can require an underground barrier to keep them under control. I found an article on the Garden Lovers Club website which suggests ten bamboo landscaping ideas.

Do you think bamboo looks amazing? Check out our ten landscaping ideas that incorporate live bamboo into your garden.
Bamboo is an exotic plant that can be seen in many gardens. They are extremely durable plants that you can see as hedges and other barriers within a garden. Most varieties grow to be extremely tall, and even though they can be trimmed from the top, most grow to be well above three feet in height. This guide is designed to give you the tips that you need to grow bamboo in your garden as well as show you a few ideas that will inspire you to incorporate bamboo into your outside d?cor. Because bamboo grows to be such a large plant, many have concerns that bamboo that is growing in their garden will overtake the other plants living there. Let?s take a look at the growth pattern of a bamboo plant and consider ways to control it.

Growth Rate of a Bamboo Plant

Planting bamboo about three to five feet apart will produce a dense wall of plant life. Even if there seems like there is plenty of space between the plants, the bamboo will grow stronger and taller each year. Depending on the type of bamboo that you plant, a year could result in one to five feet of new growth. Let?s say that your newly planted bamboo plants are about eight feet tall with three to four stalks apiece, next year the plants will have at least seven stalks that are ten feet tall. The following year you will see 17 to 20 stalks that are ten feet high, and year four results in about 60 stalks that are over 15 feet high. Each year this pattern continues, until there is no longer room in your garden for other plants.

Controlling the Spread of Bamboo

As you can see, bamboo growth needs to be controlled. You can ensure that the bamboo does not spread too far by planting it inside of a barrier. I really love creating my own bamboo planter to place in my garden out of harvested bamboo stalks. To do this you will need to find a tall straight stalk of bamboo and harvest it using pruners that can easily cut through the plant.
The other way to keep your bamboo plant?s growth under control is to prune the plants regularly. The best way to trim your bamboo garden is to do so from the top where the stems are more narrow and easy to manage. I have found that having a dedicated bamboo trimmer for this purpose ensures that you can quickly trim your bamboo plants with ease.

Go to the next page to see the great ways that bamboo can be used in the garden.
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