Bamboo for Privacy Screen
Clumping varieties will expand outward from the original plant…unlike the very invasive running bamboo, which sends out shoots underground to pop up in surprising and inconvenient places.
Bamboo is a great plant for visual privacy screens or evergreen hedges because it has a relatively small footprint, it’s tall, it’s alive and it grows fast, produces oxygen and sequesters carbon, and to top it off, it’s beautiful.
Popular Tropical Bamboo Varieties
Giant Timber (Bambusa oldhamii) Grows 40 to 60 feet with large green canes.
Wamin “Dwarf Buddha Belly Bamboo” (Bambusa vulgaris ‘Wamin’) An open-growth plant with very noticeable “bellied” canes. It grows 15 to 20 feet.
Mexican Weeping (Otatea acuminata) Super-fine textured, fluffy plant with a weepy appearance. It can get 15 to 20 feet tall.
Alphonse Karr (Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’) Showy golden-yellow canes with green pinstripes that vary on each section. Grows 20 to 30 feet.
Slender Weavers (Bambusa textilis var. gracilis) A distinctly upright grower with thin canes and a compact base, great for smaller areas. It grows 30 to 40 feet.
Golden Goddess (Bambusa multiplex ‘Golden Goddess’) A small but full variety with slender yellow canes. Grows to about 15 feet.
Blue Bamboo (Bambusa chungi) Soft blue canes covered with a powdery coating while young. Grows to 30 to 40 feet.
Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) Striking black canes on an open-growth bamboo. Grows about 20 to 25 feet.
