I have bamboo planted all over my yard (about 60 varieties) and along parts of the property lines. My neighbor has a swimming pool and has about a 60' hedge of bamboo for screening purposes and it looks great. People in my area put in all kinds of privacy hedges and bamboo is just one option. I don't think it would look bad at all. However, here are my concerns: 1. While going with a clumping bamboo is a good idea since you do not have to worry about the bamboo spreading to neighboring yards, it will require a lot of plants (probably one every 5'). Further, a $25 bamboo is probably a 1-gallon plant and will be only about 18" tall: it will take 5-10 years for these plants to be big enough to provide a privacy screen. 2. The bamboo you're talking about -- Fargesia robusta, I'm assuming -- is hardy, but only to about 0 degrees F; it will defoliate well above that temperature. Given that you list yourself as being in Zone 6, I'm not sure that particular species will survive your winters. You should look at one of the hardier Fargesia species that BambooGarden carries. 3. Bamboo experiences something called flowering. This happens rarely (like once every 20-150 years). However, when it does happen to a particular species it generally affects all the plants of that species worldwide over a couple of years. Flowering produces seeds, but it also usually kills the plant. That is why it's usually a bad idea to make a bamboo hedge out of only one species. If you are unlucky enough to have your one bamboo species flower at some time in the future, your whole hedge will be wiped out. Therefore, I'm going to suggest: 1) that you get a variety of even more hardy Fargesias -- which will also give you some variety in the look of the hedge; and/or 2) that you consider using some various species of hardy running bamboo instead of clumping bamboo, and go to the trouble and expense of putting in bamboo barrier to keep it where you want it. It will grow faster than the clumpers, and you could start with fewer plants, and then take divisions to transplant to other parts of the fence line to fill in over a number of years.

Wow: Over 2.5 years since I started this thread. Scabrida are doing very well in dappled shade: well protected from wind and drying sun in winter. Have clumped nicely and this year I have new growth in the 5' range. Rufa are also doing well: only 4' but bushing up nicely. admittedly, I have transplanted 2 of the 3 and they take a season to recover, as evidenced by how well the unmoved bunch is doing. These get partial sun (2-3 hours)and one gets baked during the winter, but is reasonably protected from wind. From what I've read: the scabrida don;t take very well to too much sun. IN fact, mine never get direct sun during summer and are doing great. One gets some direct sun during winter, and is slower to grow than the fully protected bunch. Hope that helps!

OK, first of all, on the plant you just bought, do you see a 1 segment culm in that pot laying on its side? If so, that is how they started that plant. Before I start, let me explain one reason why some bamboo is expensive. Some of the Bambusa species propagate easily by cuttings and some do not. Some need special combinations of root chemicals to make them root. If you look through some price lists, you will see that Bambusa pervariabilis viridistriata is more expensive than Bambusa eutuldoides Viridi-vittata and that is because people are having a problem producing them in mass by stem cuttings and have to split them up. So, keep in mind that all of these might not start from cuttings, BUT ventricosa and oldhamii both start easily by cuttings. Many people can do a cutting with 1 segment but an old man 20 years ago who was very good with bamboo told me how to do it and it has been better for me to do it this way. You take a full sized culm and cut it off at ground level. The bottom part will start a new plant, so you won't lose anything in the long run. The top part of the culm, may not have enough hollow area in it to root in, so I only use the bottom part that is more hollow. You start by cutting the culm just below the node. Then on the next cut you go past the next node up and make the cut just below the second node. So, what you have is at the bottom there is a node and this is where your roots will come from. Then you have a complete section that is intact. Above that node you have more or less, a vase that is the full length between nodes. Just above that is the other node that starts your next cutting. Can you picture what I am trying to describe? OK, so this is why this works so well. You fill the top part of the cutting with water and this will seep through the top node of the cutting and go into the intact section and will feed and moisten the node where the roots will come from. Because the lower section never gets dried out by being exposed this will increase your success as opposed to the 1 node cutting that can get dried out if you forget to put more water in the "vase". If you put cuttings in a mist bed with a timer, you can get away with a 1 node cutting, but the average hobbiest doesn't have a setup like that so the 2 node cutting works a lot better. Keeping them in shade and giving them lots of water will help increase the number of cuttings that work. All the cuttings might not work, but this should do just fine. You could probably use a rooting hormone on the bottom part, especially if you use one of the liquid types of rooting hormones, but I have never needed that on the types I have done it on. They take several months and it is always best to do it when it is warm, like now is a good time.

I have 8 G Riviereoum Chinese Goddess 5 gal plants ready to go in the ground. I want them to grow into a hedge but they are taller than I want. Can I prune them before they are planted or should I wait until after? And, if after, how much time do they need to get established before I prune? Also - I have no idea if my soil is acidic or not. I plan to add compost to the holes. What kind of fertilizer should I use and when? Thanks for your help!