Viewing post #657346 by OldGardener

RickCorey said: When I said "a few inches per year of spread" I meant the diameter of the soil patch from which culms emerge.

Okay, now I feel like an idiot (where is the hand to forehead emoticon? ).

RickCorey said:I'm not sure what that works out to in width-per-year, but my 2-year plant sprawled around 5 feet wide.

I don't have a photo of my three-year plant in the fall after new culms "sprawled", but I have a photo of it 4.5 years old, pre-new-growth, that suggests my 3-year plant must have been around 8 feet wide .

This gives me hope. It will be nice not to have to look at the trash, dead plants, etc., any more.

RickCorey said:
I bought it as a tiny clump in July 2009, from Home Depot, in a 2-3 quart pot. It wasn't MUCH bigger the second year, perhaps it "only" doubled or tripled the size of its foliage. And July might have on the late edge for planting it out. If you start with bigger, more expensive plants and give them better soil, yours may take off faster than mine.

I am actually starting with plugs but I must admit, these plugs look good. They arrived in tree flats and each has a 2x2x3-4" root system. I am in the process of potting them up for the summer. Come September/October, they will be placed in their final homes at the bottom of the hill. Although our native soil is adobe clay (can that even be considered soil?), the soil along the fence line is deep leaf mulch from years of buildup so *hopefully* the bamboo will be happy.

RickCorey said:... you could buy fewer clumps and divide each 3-4 ways after 2-3 years. Replant 1 or 2 or 3 clumps between each original clump. And then you would have a uniform hedge, instead of 18 umbrellas in a row.

I actually will have to divide to get full coverage. I bought all of the plugs that Santa Rosa had left over and am considerably short - even with 10' centers. Their property envelopes ours - sort of a U-shape.

RickCorey said:>> Arundo donax

A runner? You are a naughty person!

YES - and I am still tempted 'Just a sign of my frustration.

RickCorey said:is 4 years old but BEFORE it's Year Four growth spurt. So this is how wide it must have been late in Year Three, after drooping.

BEAUTIFUL!