First you need an healthy mature bamboo plant. You can use most species of bamboo but if you want to create a strong hardy smart bamboo, plant bambusa nana is the winner. Wamin Buddha Belly bamboo is right up there too. Bambusa Chungii has turned out to be very hardy as a smart bamboo in the warm subtropical areas.
6 steps to create a smart bamboo
- Step 1: dig last years culm [cane] with the top bud on the rhizome above the cut.
- Step 2: cut the culm [cane] to the height you want your screening bamboo to be.
- Step 3: pot the culm into a good medium like coco peat or sphagnum moss. Stand the culm up right in a full sun situation and support by tying to a horizontal brace.
- Step 4: when using a smaller diameter culms [canes]. Tie 3 culms [canes] together to create a smart bamboo that will be covered in foliage in no time. This is the most popular form of smart bamboo you will see in Thailand.
- Step 5: you can plant them out as a screen as soon as you like.
- Step 6: brace them in place with horizontal bracing for the first year in a windy situation if needed.
Spring is the best time to create smart bamboos but if you have the right environment or have a controlled environment you can do them year round.
Smart bamboos are the future of bamboo screening in Australian’s suburban gardens.
Hi Mr Bamboo
Can you please tell me how many plants I need to buy for a 4 to 5 metre fence. We have a narrow space between wall (limestone) and pool cover and neighbours have graciously put a large garage that is an eye sore. Will Gracilis bamilous be the answer. Pool equipment is close. Should we worry about electrical and pool equipment. The growing width is 30 cm .