Golden bamboo in a small yard - replace or put in barrier?

[Dooler]

I have some Golden bambo I put in my yard last fall. My yard is extremely small and only have a small area of 6' x 3' devoted to the bamboo. Should I pull it out and replace it with a clumping bamboo such as Festatia Robusta or put a barrier in. Both will run me about the same $. I wanted bambo in area to grow taller than fence and give a little screening. Golden would be perfect as it is fast growing (instant gratification) and tolerates the afternoon sun

Any suggestions/recommendation wanted.

Thanks, Clayton

[Bert]

Put in a barrier.

A clumper does not spread but does expand and over time will exceed your assigned area.

The only barrier I would recommend for long term containment is a min. of 4" of reinforced concrete. All of the plastic barriers on the market are made for tree roots and the longest manufacturers guarantee I have found is 15 years and this is a new product that has never been tested on bamboo however it has channels that direct the tree roots down which is a no no for bamboo.

Rent a trencher, cut a trench 3 feet deep and fill with concrete reinforced with rebar or wire mesh and your bamboo will be contained for the next 30 to

50 years. You will need to go in and dig out part of it every so often to keep it in top shape.

In the area you have allowed the plant will probably never reach the rated height because there is not sufficient area to develop the root mass necessary to store the energy to put up the rated height.

Best of luck.

Bert Silverman MidAtlantic Bamboo.com Http//

[The Watcher]

Don't forget about keeping an eye on that bamboo even after you put the barrier in. I have 7 kinds of bamboo growing now, and some of them can be sneaky. If it can't sneak under a barrier it will sometimes try to sneak over the barrier.