One of the most practical uses of bamboo is as a hedge or privacy wall. Aside from looking better than plastic, metal or wood fences, a natural bamboo hedge is stronger, more durable and provides much better privacy. Here in Florida we get hurricanes and even a strong tropical storm can tear apart any traditional style fence. Repairs can become costly and labor intensive. I have found that planting tropical and subtropical clumping bamboo along an existing fence line or in place of a fence altogether is a cost effective way to secure your property line and shield existing fence from high wind damage. Bamboo establishes itself quickly in the ground and is easy to prune and shape into any size hedge from 3'-40' depending on how you trim.
I am planning a project at a friends house who lives directly behind an industrial park. It is the perfect application for a medium sized fast screening bamboo like "Seabreeze" Bambusa Malingensis. I am planning to plant 7g material on 6' centers across a 90' span in front of existing wood shadowbox fencing. Check back to see some before and after the install pictures.
In my opinion there are several very good choices for screening and hedge bamboos. I will try to go over a few.
Seabreeze bamboo, bambusa malingensis- is called Seabreeze bamboo because it is said to be the most salt tolerant of the clumping bamboos. This Bamboo quickly forms a dense hedge of green culms with a white bloom. Mature culms will reach height of 30'+ if left untrimmed, but can easily be trimmed down to any height desired, depending on the application. This dense clumper is easy to keep as a tight and attractive hedge and can take a backyard from boring to tropical paradise in no time. Very fast grower, 3 gallon material will send up 10'+ shoots a few months after planting. We are preparing the material this week and will be installing at the end of the week. I will post before and after pictures next week.
