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Yes, Bamboo is an excellent choice for screening! While some may be concerned about its rapid growth, bamboo offers fantastic coverage with its vibrant green leaves without creating complete shade. Its growth pattern naturally becomes more open at the top, allowing light to filter through. Additionally, bamboo can be a wonderful addition to a sensory garden due to its gentle, rustling sound in the breeze.
At King & Co, we offer three beautiful varieties of clump-forming bamboo that are well-suited to our climate, meaning they grow in manageable clumps rather than spreading invasively. These include Golden Bamboo, Black Bamboo, and Spectabilis Bamboo.
Golden Bamboo Plants
Phyllostachys ‘Aurea’ commonly known as Golden Bamboo has beautiful stems and leaves that initially appear in lovely shades of mid to light green. With plenty of sunshine, the stems can mature into a beautiful golden yellow, which is how this bamboo gets its common name! As the plant establishes, trimming the lower growth can further accentuate the vibrant golden colour of these stems.
Golden bamboo is known for being both resilient and easy to cultivate, establishing itself quickly into a sizable, bushy plant. Typically reaching a mature height of up to 4m, it can grow even taller in particularly favourable conditions. New shoots emerge in late spring to early summer, once the soil warms up and the nights become milder. This new growth is remarkably rapid, with noticeable development occurring each day.
Golden Bamboo is an excellent choice for creating hedges and natural screens. It also stands out beautifully as a solitary specimen plant. At King and Co, we currently have Phyllostachys ‘Aurea’ available at heights of approximately 2-2.5m.
Black Bamboo Plants
Phyllostachys ‘Nigra’ is also known as Black bamboo. It is a highly decorative variety with new shoots that emerge as dark green, gradually transforming to a rich dark brown, and eventually developing a glossy black finish when exposed to ample sunlight! Particularly admired for its striking dark stems, its visual appeal can be further enhanced by removing the lower leaves to showcase the canes.
While Black Bamboo grows more slowly and is less hardy compared to other bamboo types, it will flourish in moist soil and a sunny, sheltered location. Reaching a height of around 3-3.5m in most environments, this plant will form a dense, attractive clump. Please note that some leaf scorch or browning might occur during periods of very cold and icy winds, but he plant will typically recover and regrow in the spring. This bamboo is also available at King and Co at a size of 2-2.5m tall.
Spectabilis Bamboo
Phyllostachys ‘Spectabilis’ is another excellent bamboo variety we stock. Unlike Phyllostachys ‘Nigra’ with its distinctive black stems and Phyllostachys ‘Aurea’ with its green to golden canes, ‘Spectabilis’ features striking stout yellow canes with unique green grooves, creating a visually appealing stripy effect.
Similar to our other bamboo varieties, this species retains its green, lance-shaped leaves throughout the year and grows in clumps, making it well-suited to the UK climate. Phyllostachys ‘Spectabilis’ is currently in stock at a height of 2-2.5m.
While the three varieties we discussed are clump-forming, it’s worth noting that they can occasionally spread in very favourable conditions. If you need to manage their growth, installing a root barrier is a straightforward solution to direct the roots as desired. In summary, bamboo is an excellent choice for screening. Just take steps to control its growth to prevent it from becoming invasive.
