Gudday, I was hoping someone could give me some advice as to where to put one (or 3!) stand/s of bamboo, in our garden! I don't want to shade out anything, but we have limited space, and I've got 3 plants to go in. The first one is Oldhmii - grows to around 12 metres and has culms (poles) to around 10cm thickness. I've scanned a rough sketch of our garden. We are in a subtropical zone with a perhaps a 5-8% slope. (Click on for a bigger view) View attachment 1257 I was thinking the top left-hand area, above the garden, next to the tree? Adie P.S I'm totally obsessed with Bamboo after visiting Bamboo Land and Djanbung Gardens in Nimbin...
Nope - what you have marked on the map as the "back fence" is to the east - they will have to be on the southern side of the block, or they will cast a lot of shade once they grow. Oldhamii will want a bit of room as it matures. The others could go into the gaps between the trees on the southern side of the garden.
Duh! Sorry of course it is! The other 2 species are Timor Black which grows to around 12m and Brandisii which grows to around 18m. Where should I put the tallest, on the higher slope? I don't really want to block off the south side altogether - if I put 2 in there, is there any other place to put the 3rd? Our sun has already been hot enough to send our broccoli and bok choy straight to seed! If I put one of them in that top left corner, maybe I can create a bit of reliable shade for the summer veggies that suffer so much in the strong sunlight. We did get a lovely winter crop in full sun, but now shade is becoming the sought after commodity. Adie
Namaste Cobby That would work. Try working out where the sun sets (on the horizon) during Dec - Jan - Feb (the hottest months). Work out the angle to the top of the bamboo (18m is going to be pretty high) - remember all that trigonometry you slept through in high school then work out on the ground how far the shadow will be cast. You can make adjustments for the different times of day, to work out how many hours of sun/shade those areas will get. Then you can plan your gardens/plants accordingly. If you have too much trouble with it, we may be coming through Ipswich in the next couple of weekends, and could make a short detour. Just as an aside, re the bok choy and broccoli going to seed. An old acquaintance of mine told me once that it's not the actual heat that sends brassicas to seed, it is a short period of lower than usual temperatures. We tend to plant brassicas as annuals, so we don't generally realise that they are, in nature, a bi-annual plant, that is, they throw seed in their second year. If you get some nice warm weather, then a sudden cool snap (like we've had in SEQ just recently) and back to warm, the plant assumes that its had it's "winter", and it's time to do the species preservation thing and set some seed. Isn't nature miraculous!
Yes, lots of us here have brassicas that are still going several years later. My chard is on its third year. I talk to it, does that count?
Thanks Don, It would be wonderful if you could come visit so I could show you what we've been up to! Any advice gratefully received! My number is 0410640799 - we normally meet on Fridays but I could come anytime I'm not at work. Interesting about the veggies - the temps have certainly dipped and soared in the last few weeks, makes sense! I talk to all of my plants at home Sweatpea - I'm sure they appreciate it! (Makes me feel good, anyway:}) Adie
