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Bamboos are one of the most evocative of garden plants; nothing
conjures up the image of the orient as powerfully as the sight and sound of
their graceful evergreen leaves and stems swaying in the breeze. They do,
however, have an undeserved reputation for being something of a horticultural
thug: perceived wisdom suggests introducing bamboo into a garden will soon
result in the plant taking over, destroying everything in its path, before
flowering and promptly dropping dead. This is unnecessarily alarmist. While
there are tropical species capable of astonishing rates of growth with invasive
runners, there are many smaller and slower growing species, which make excellent
features for temperate gardens.
Many have beautifully marked culms (stems) and some have
variegated leaves. Some of these are still capable of out growing their allotted
space however, and it used to be thought growing containers was difficult, if
not impossible. Nursery owner Paul Whittaker, of P W Plants, Norfolk, has shown
this to be untrue: he grows even very large specimens up to 5m (16ft) tall in
pots and maintains many species can be grown in this way provided that their
specific cultural requirements are met.
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