Bamboo for cover?

[crowsnest]

I was thinking of transplanting some Cold hardy bamboo for cover and shade in a new colony I am helping my oldest son to set up. My question is if anyone knows if Bamboo is safe? If they nibble at it Would it be harmful?

 

[eco2pia]

bamboo is edible for humans when new and tender. I have offered the old leaves and they are not really that interested, they snipped them apart for the entertainment, but didn't really eat them.

I would warn you, bamboo takes over and will consume your yard where I live, so be sure you have a plan to contain it, it spreads by underground runners. Or maybe your climate is less favorable.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

oh yes, contain the roots!!! but bamboo would be a nice privacy screen, shade cover for many situations.

One of the ways I have found to contain plants that spread by runners- is to keep them in pots when planting them. The pot walls prevent the roots from growing horizontally outwards-- most perennial plants that spread by horizontal root growth don't have the deep root structure that seed spreading perennials plants have.

 

[crowsnest]

Thanks guys! I have a ton of extra 3 and 5 gallon buckets around here - maybe I can use those to plant them in and then just set them in a prepared hole. That way the roots are contained, but they should still have plenty of room in the buckets to get nice and bushy of shade and cover. Awesome!

 

[arachyd]

Depending on the species of bamboo you may have to be extra vigilant. The roots can go through wood, concrete, aluminum and plastic. It can put runners out overnight that go surprisingly far. I kept a nice clump of it by digging a trench around it over a foot deep. The roots tend to spread near the surface instead of down so every morning I'd snip off the running roots that would break through into the trench. Some of them would be over a foot long overnight. Eventually it got to be too much work keeping the trench from collapsing because my dogs learned there was cool shade in the bamboo and they could hide in it and pounce on each other causing them to stomp down the sides of the trench. My rabbits enjoyed the leaves whenever I'd offer them.

 

[Pickles]

I send some of the same cautions with bamboo... it spreads everywhere and can be a total pain in the a**! No lie! It cannot be contained... seriously.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I was thinking of transplanting some Cold hardy bamboo for cover and shade in a new colony I am helping my oldest son to set up. My question is if anyone knows if Bamboo is safe? If they nibble at it Would it be harmful?

Just make sure you get the "clumping" kind. It does not propagate with runners like the other kind...

http://www.littleacrebamboo.com/bamboo.htm

Check out this website for some good info, I just found it.