I bought a house last summer and now that spring is near I am cleaning out beds and getting things ready for this spring/summer. I have a shed out back that I thought had a bamboo hedge growing next to it as a shield. However, the more I read about bamboo I'm not sure it's that at all. It has died or turned brown over the winter and shed all its long leaves. I wanted to trim it and clean up the bed its in but now I'm not sure if its' bamboo and if it is how to trim or cut down. It looks terrible. During last summer it was green about 7 feet tall with long leaves. The stem looks like it's bamboo with the way the stalks grow. Please help. Thanks.
If it had heart shaped leaves, I might have said it was Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica). With long leaves however, it sounds like it could be bamboo. Not all bamboo will remain evergreen in colder climates & leaves can turn tan and fall off in a harsh winter. Another possibility is Arundo donax (giant reed)...it's herbaceous in your climate.
Your absolutely correct. That's it, Giant Reed. I assume you would treat them as you would an ornamental grass? Thank you.
Yes, that's appropriate....if you find the dead stalks unattractive in winter, you could probably trim them down to 1' in fall or just wait until spring to do it.
In vancouver fallopia japonica is considered an invasive weed.I would get rid of it myself.but if it is arundo donax it is a nice plant to have.
