Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & privacy

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d0n
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Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & privacy

Post by d0n »

Hi, I live on a very busy truck route, on a hill, in a smallish city. About 5 miles up the road there is a gravel pit where large and small trucks drive to and from all day long. The trucks loud jake brakes coming down the hill are really annoying.

I have a patch of grass roughly 2-3 feet wide that separates the road from the sidewalk. I was wondering if there's a type of bamboo that would grow really really really really really really :!: densely (so dense you can't see through it?) and 15-20 feet tall (tall enough to filter noise from the trucks high exhaust pipes).

I believe a running type would be fine. Especially, if it would fill in this strip of earth on its own.

I've attached a picture of the grassy strip in front of my home so you could have a better idea what I am hoping to do. My home is the yellow one and I own the lot next to the RV. I would want to populate that entire 70-80 foot length with bamboo.

I would be completely fine with having my home not even visible from the street once the bamboo is grown.

thoughts?

thanks!

Don in loud Troy NY.

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Sirius
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by Sirius »

Hi, And welcome to the Forum.

The problem is that patch of grass you want to replace is quite narrow, so there isn't that much room for a plant to develop.

But I would consider either Fargesia robusta or Fargesia murieliae. Both a clumping that would get quite dense.
You would need a few starter plants set every few feet and they will grow to fill in the gaps.
Alan_L
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by Alan_L »

I'd be worried about planting any tall bamboo right next to both the street and sidewalk. For several years there will be culms drooping both ways. Even when the plant is mature, snow or ice loads will bend culms down too. You may be able to control that a bit by pruning culms.

I've seen running bamboos planted in narrower strips than these (around a restaurant patio) so I think the amount of space is fine -- I just think the noise abatement may not be as good as you hope for.

I'd probably recommend Phyllostachys bissetii or Phyllostachys rubromarginata, as both create dense growth. I'll wait for others to comment.
dependable
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by dependable »

While it might not get to 20 ft, Psudosasa japonica might eventually fill the space well.
Matt in TN
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by Matt in TN »

Definitely rubromarginata. I would think the city would not take kindly to you planting bamboo there though, and Alan is correct that it will droop.
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d0n
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by d0n »

Thanks for the advice folks!
I have no problem pruning it and doting over it daily if needed.
I was looking at pictures online and found this ... it's what I envision in that strip of grass.
The city might say something but given that this is a known loud truck route, they might look the other way. Especially, if the wall/hedge looks nice.
Is this doable do you think? How long does it take for bamboo to get to this height and density?

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d0n
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by d0n »

Fargesia Robusta Hedge is the type in the pictures I posted above
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by dependable »

I guess Troy NY would be zone 5 or 6. But as Matt said, as the town probably owns that strip and would not take to having the road or sidewalk blocked, I doubt you can do much there. When it snows, the plants will bend over and get plowed.

I have seen P aurosulcata successfully planted in a strip that size, but it is up against a building.
d0n
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by d0n »

Troy NY takes an unusual stance to their sidewalks. They deem the sidewalks the homeowners responsibility.So I don't think they'd have much to say about planting here.

Damaged/Snow Covered Sidewalks

The condition of sidewalks is the property owner’s responsibility. Steps, sidewalks and similar areas must be kept in good repair and maintained to assure safe travel under normal use and weather conditions. The owner, occupant or agent of any property, with a sidewalk parallel to any public street, shall clear and keep cleared any snow or ice which has accumulated on the surface. This clearing of the snow and ice shall be completed by 10:00 am of the day following the accumulation.
Matt in TN
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by Matt in TN »

Around four years to fill in - but it really depends on how many you plant and how your specific climate is. Here's a good overview of my rubro over a few years, whcih also shows what it looks like when it droops: http://www.bambooweb.info/bb/viewtopic. ... bro+update
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Matt in TN
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by Matt in TN »

If you do go this route - BE SURE to install a serious and deep rhizhome barrier, and plan on regular maintenance. Don't let it destroy the road and sidewalk and give bamboo a bad name. Here's some shots of how thick mine has grown (taken this Feb):


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d0n
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by d0n »

Matt that looks great. You don't do any pruning to make it like a hedge I'd guess? I'd have to prune both sides but I'm ok with that.
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by Matt in TN »

No pruning at all. I do mow both sides to keep it in check, and kick/cut the occasional runner.
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needmore
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by needmore »

I'd suggest Phyllostachys humilis, it will stay shorter (8-12' probably) which will create a denser screen lower down, it is a prolific producers of new canes and it will have slender canes/rhizomes which would make it less likely to be a problem with the road, having thinner rhizomes than something taller. It is also not in much demand so growers that sell it probably keep the price down and the pots may be really full...
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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Re: Please suggest specific bamboo for noise pollution & pri

Post by johnw »

A very healthy P. humilis that we had thought was bissetii (glaucous undersides on humilis) froze to the snowline this winter in Z6, milder than Troy I assume. The low temp in the city here was -17c, the interior of the province got one night to -22 to -24c so reckon about -20/-21c got the humilis in the outer suburbs. That was a bit of a shock. It's shooting like mad - 35 shoots so far - but will have to be removed if it is that tender.
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
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