I need a good hedge variety for hot S. Texas

12 years ago

Purpose is for a hedge, even 10 ft. is plenty tall. I am in Mathis, Tx 78368. This summer is exceptionally hot and dry, have had highs of 111-112 degrees. Must be cold tolerant to about 10 degrees. Full sun. Drought is not an issue as I have drip irrigation from a well.

I bought 10 rhisomes from an ebay vender 2 months ago. Don't remember variety name, but it definitely was one for southern climate and advertised as being heat tolerant to 105 deg. Put them in 1 gal pots with Baccto under a shaded carport. NOT ONE of them sprouted, they are all dead.

The daytime highs are only slighly cooler under the carport than out in the open yard....so maybe it was still just too hot for them to survive? THere is an incredible number of species, and google isn't turning up any good specific info on heat tolerance....most of the time the min. temperature is given instead.

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Comments (4)

kudzu9
12 years ago
Starting bamboo from rhizomes is usually iffy, and getting them from someone on eBay often results in failure because rhizomes don't do well if allowed to dry out. I've potted them up immediately in my own yard and only had limited success. That is the reason most of us growing bamboo start with a division...a whole plant in a pot.

As for species for your area, I am reluctant to make a recommendation because I don't have experience growing bamboo under such extremes. For that reason, I recommend you register at www.bambooweb.info and post in the Growing Bamboo forum. That web site has a wide geographic range of more experienced bamboo growers, and you will get reliable info there.
kentuck_8b
12 years ago
Bambusa multiplex 'Golden Goddess' is a good one for your area and for what you are looking for. Bambusa multiplex 'Fernleaf' is another. They are clumpers so you won't have to worry about it spreading fast. I grow many varieties of Bambusas and they all have tolerated this hot Texas Summer heat very well, and they all do well in my area which has colder Winters than your area.

There is a rest area south of Tivoli that has some small leaved bamboo growing along it. It might be what you are looking for. It is in the open prairie and gets no waterings that I know of, but if you grew it and gave it some care, it would get taller and put on more leaves...so if you are ever up that direction you might take a look.

Kt
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I'm looking at the photo, and I don't see any shade. Sasanquas will tolerate sun without the leaf discoloration that japonicas often get in sunny spots. If a shade tree is planned for the yard, then I would think any type of camellia should do fine. Taylor's Perfection may tolerate a sunny location if your climate is fairly humid- your nursery contact could tell you how much shade it needs in your area. I didn't think TP was all that exciting from looking at photos, but when I saw it in person, I really liked the bloom shape- I can see why you like it! Sasanquas have a shorter bloom time than japonicas. They will bloom like crazy for several weeks, and the rest of the year are very attractive evergreen shrubs with smaller leves than japonicas. I have seen long hedges of sasanquas trimmed to the same general size/shape, and the look is dense, green and leafy- in a word, hedge-like. To me, japonicas used as hedges don't provide the same uniform appearance simply because their leaves are bigger. Some will do a better job of being hedge-like than others, though, depending on their habit (dense being hedgier than an open habit). If you're planning to use hedge-clippers, small-leaved sasanqua-type camellias look much better, IMO. Whatever type you choose, remember to prune just after plants bloom, or you risk losing the next year's flowers. If it were me, I would go with two different cultivars, and alternate them, so that you have some variety, but a pattern making things more formal. You could choose a fall-bloomer and alternate with a spring bloomer such as TP... Or find a variety that complements TP and blooms at the same time. Since the general recommendation is to plant camellias about 6 feet apart for a hedge, 27 feet will allow 5-6 plants. Most camellias will get to a small tree size eventually if left alone- sasanquas grow more quickly than japonicas- but it will take any variety some time to get to 8-feet, and all camellias take pruning back pretty well. If you decide that TP isn't going to tolerate your sunny site, consider using some sasanqua-type camellias. Varieties I like include 'Leslie Ann', 'Early Pearly', 'Stars'n'Stripes', Navajo', 'Kanjiro', 'Jean May' and 'Snow Flurry'. If you prefer the look/ blooming season of japonicas, camellias with red blooms are usually considered more sun-tolerant than those with lighter colored flowers. And higher humidity does seem to make it easier to grow japonicas in sunny spots... Good luck!
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SoTX
12 years ago
I only bought one eBay rhizome (not) & got my cash back finally. I didn't know any better--live & learn. I will know by next year about survivors, but Houston has all kinds of stuff growing (TX Bamboo Association website). I am, however, planting runners. No clue what I am doing, but this is a learning experience.
mikemcg
12 years ago
jimigunne,

I presume you are the Mathis, Tx that is down near Corpus Christi? If so you can grow a number of semi tropical clumping bamboos. I would think your minimum temperature is in the high 20s or even low 30s and a 10Ã¯Â¿Â½F would be an extremely rare event?

I agree with Kentuck that one of the Bambusa multiplex varieties would be a good choice for a hedge. They would probably be damaged at 10Ã¯Â¿Â½F but even if they were totally top killed they will come back from the rhizomes.

Darwin Nelson lives down near you and is having an event at his place in November:

Bayside Bamboo Festival - Nov 4-5, 2011 - Bayside, Texas
contact: darwin.nelson@sbcglobal.net

It would probably worth your while to visit just to see his bamboo even if you don't buy any thing.

Mike McG near Brenham TX

I need a good hedge variety for hot S. Texas

Comments (4)

kudzu9

kentuck_8b

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