Pseudosasa Japonica

[Michellynn]

Does anyone have experience growing this in the northeast? I live in southeast PA and I am looking for a moderate height bamboo (anything above 8' but less than 20') to grow as a screen along the edge of our property (a long L shaped section about 300' long). The area gets full sun and is something of slightly rocky clay soil (the type that is not so great for immediate gardening, but does well with a little amending).

In any event, a local supplier here carries the Phyllostachys vivax variety as well as the Pseudosasa japonica variety.

I feel like the vivax is a bit more aggressive in height and runners than I really want to deal with. I have a rose bed that will be about 20 - 30 ft from this screen and I don't want to have to worry about stray runners popping up in the middle of the rose bed. Not to mention, I really need the screening down low and it seems like vivax is mostly leafy towards the top growth and not down low.

From what I have read, the japonica is not as aggressive with the runners. It also appears to create a nice screen the length of it's growth (very leafy the entire length).

I haven't found much growing feedback from anyone on the japonica from my searches. Has anyone here grown it and can tell me your experience with it?

[sasa fool]

I don't think that you should count on Ps. japonica being a less aggressive spreader. Rhizome spread is really a product of local conditions - local being your yard in this case. Although it may tend to generally be slower, for me and many others that is not the case.

I believe that in the UK it is one of the more aggressive runners so some aspect of their maritime climate encourages Ps. japonica to run while the Phyllostachys tend to be well behaved as they like hotter summers than the UK experiences. Here I moved it in the second year as it had already run beyond where I wanted it. In the new spot it has been very slow. The combination of soil composition, watering culture, food sun, temps etc. can greatly impact spread and in any case you would be well served to have & implement a control method regardless of the running species.

Phyllostachys vivax may not be a good choice for PA as it breaks easily under snow load and that requires extra labor cleaning up broken culms. If you do get much wet snow, no worries.

[Michellynn]

The heavy snow and ice storms breaking the culms is actually one of the things I was worried about with the vivax. We don't really need that much height where we want to put it. Also, point well taken about what variety might be more aggressive in which location.

As for control method, there will be about 20' of open lawn next to the 3-5 or so feet of depth we are willing to give it (and the 300' length). Is an actual physical barrier really necessary to prevent the rhizomes from spreading out in to the lawn and choking the roots of the grass out? I mean, we will install the barrier if it is really the only way to prevent the rhizomes from choking everything else out. But, where we are putting it, we would need 300' x 2 (one side to control along the neighbor's side, and then the second side to control on our side). If we can manually control it on our side without installing the barrier, and without putting the lawn and rose bed (20' away) at risk it will cut the cost for just the barrier from $1200 down to $600.

[CaroleMeckes]

I would guess that the cold temperatures would help to slow down the spread of the Pseudosasa japonica. The American Bamboo Society Source List shows that it is minimum temperature is zero degrees F, and your zone is noted to be -10 to -20 degrees F.
Based on that - I don't know if you really would need a barrier.
Carole

[sasa fool]

I may be standing on my own private island here Carole :o but I believe that hot summers trump cold winters in terms of rhizome spread. I've been interested in hearing of other people ideas on this. Here we go below zero nearly every year (We've been to +2F twice this winter thus far) and I have significant rhizome spread. There is a picture of Spectabilis rhizomes maybe 15-20 feet long from one growing season on my website, this is not unusual for my bamboo.

In the UK where they have milder winters, the running bamboo often grow like clumpers. The difference between our climates is our hot, humid continental summers which occur during the rhizome growth period. Additionally we warm up faster and have a longer growing season. Although cold temps can indeed kill shallow rhizomes, I just wonder if the warm soil temps, adequate rainfall (normally), high heat & humidity of areas like mine and probably also SE PA throw long rhizomes despite cold winters. I see this with other groves in my area so I don't think it is my TLC but I'll remain open minded to thoughts from others on this.

[CaroleMeckes]

Brad,
Thanks for your comments re rhizome growth in colder climates.
I have no experience growing bamboo in the north - I could only imagine what I would do if I were a bamboo rhizome and the temperatures were subzero. slow down...
So I will have to "bow out" of this conversation for now...
Carole

[Michellynn]

Soooo.....with all of that said...regardless of the rate of rhizome growth...if I "spade prune" once a year, and prevent top growth...will the rhizomes eventually die? That is if a section of rhizome has been cut off from the rest of the bamboo plant that has growth above ground AND they have no top growth of thier own, they will just die off? OR will they continue to try and push out culms of their own until they are pulled out of the ground?

[CaroleMeckes]

Michellynn
if I "spade prune" once a year, and prevent top growth...will the rhizomes eventually die? That is if a section of rhizome has been cut off from the rest of the bamboo plant that has growth above ground AND they have no top growth of thier own, they will just die off?

Yes, that is what I have always been trained to say.
Once a grove is established though it will take a "bit" more work.
I think I will be finding out for myself this spring as the shoots start rising, as Mark always did lots of root pruning around the perimeters...
Carole

[sasa fool]

You might want to consider a line of barrier on the neighbors side of the planting but rhizome prune 'your' side. I preach control & patrol...prune and patrol the perimeter, if you see a wayward shoot, kick it over sever the rhizome as you describe and don't let that rhizome establish any living culms.

Carole I may be alone in that observation and I'm sure that shorter growing seasons and cold winters will surely slow down the spread. Even though we go subzero nearly every year we warm up fast and the shooting season starts at the end of March for the early species and is in full bloom by mid-April, almost totally over by late May. The last Phyllostachys to shoot here - Atrovaginata & Rubromarginata are going in late May. Then no frost until mid to late October with the hot, humid, adequate rain summers so 4 good months for rhizome growth. I saw new rhizomes out 8 feet in mid-June last year.

I suspect that portions of PA, IN, OH, IL, MO, KY have very similar growing seasons and should see active rhizome spread.

[CaroleMeckes]

Thanks Brad for sharing your experiences,
Carole

[Michellynn]

Thank you Carole and Brad! You both have been very helpful!

[ShmuBamboo]

From my experience growing both Phy. vivax and Ps. japonica in a cooler PNW region, I classify both as aggressive runners here. We get down to 15 degrees here in winter, and have long warm/hot dry summers, and warm wet falls when rhizomes grow the most. I have seen vivax runners as long as 30 ft long in OR. That was growing in ideal chipper mulch though. I dug up a patch of vivax and japonica here this fall, and I was just in time... they were both running toward the house (planted 10 ft away; now planted 30 ft away).

I also have seen other types of Pseudosas be very agressive, and I keep them mostly in pots. I dug up several large Pseudosasa longiligulas from a house in Eugene a few years ago, and they had comepletely underminded a sidewalk and house foundation. I keep them in 55 gallon tubs here. So do not be fooled...