Hello, Im new too the forums. Looking too make my yard more attractive, just moved too a new place the past year, the yard is bare, was thinking of going with a japan/china yard scheme. Would like too start with one of the bamboo tree family. was thinking of Phyllostachys pubescens?.. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada where it gets very cold in the winter, sometime droping to -34C/39C but usualy stays around -24C/-28. are the bamboo trees hardy enough too survive these winters? If not, would like too hear some other ideas. Thank you Cody
Sorry not a prayer there. Perhaps one or two of the very most hardy bamboos - Fargesia nitida for instance - might be possible in a sheltered position there.
Yeah I figured they wouldnt be a good choice. The Fargesia nitida are nice also, but it seem's they may be a risk. due too this cold weather..... Im looking for something diffrent too plant in my yard, something almost exotic(if that makes any sense). I have a fair sized yard, fenced off, would like something tall like the bamboo plant too border with my fence around the yard for starters. Im new too all this. could use any ideas. got any more..:)
Maybe if you planted Miscanthus giganteus syn. floridulus early in the growing season and heavily mulched it before winter , that would give you the desired effect .
I'd try the Fargesias, starting with F. robusta. Also consider Phyllostachys bissetti and P. decora -- but give them winter protection as outlined below. Also, you can almost certainly grow some of the low, ground-cover bamboos -- my favorites are Sasaella masamuniana 'Albo-striata' and Pleioblastus viridistriatus (especially the all-yellow form of this) -- which will probably grow less than a foot tall for you, and thus should be nicely insulated by snow and drifting leaves. They are rock-hardy here in Maine. It's pretty typical for bamboos to die back to the ground (or the top of the snow layer) in very cold winters, then to put out vigorous new shoots when the soil warms up in late spring or early summer. That might be good enough: you probably have fine long summer days in which the new stems can soak up sunshine and produce food for the next year. But also remember: it's easy to provide winter protection for the above-ground parts of hardy bamboos. Just bend them (gently but forcefully) close to the ground, then cover them with evergreen boughs. The idea isn't to keep them from freezing, but rather to protect them from desiccating winter wind and sun. In some cases the leaves will die anyway, but all or part of the stems will survive and produce new leaves next year. This is a frontier of horticulture and I don't think you should be discouraged by people telling you it can't be done.
