If you’re looking to create the ultimate bamboo privacy fence or screen, then you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed by the hundreds of options to choose from. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, and it also comes in over a hundred variations.

Where the majority of hedge plants must be installed 18 inches apart, bamboo plants for privacy are most often planted between 4 and 8 feet apart to create a natural, living green screen. This offers a substantial reduction in installation and material costs. In addition to this, bamboo plants are 5 times more efficient at converting CO2 (carbon dioxide) into oxygen than traditional trees. It is also a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option.

When you use bamboo plants for privacy, knowing how to choose the ultimate bamboo can greatly reduce the confusion.

Bamboo Types

All bamboo can be classified as one of 2 types: invasive and noninvasive. If you’re looking for the best bamboo plants for privacy, then you’re going to want noninvasive, clumping bamboo as it is easier to maintain and can quickly create the privacy screen or fence that you desire. There are a wide variety of clumping bamboos that can be used for privacy and screening purposes.

Size Matters

When it comes to choosing the perfect bamboo for your needs, size really does matter in a number of ways. For starters, you should carefully consider the size of your yard or landscaping area. The size of the area where you intend to put your privacy fence or screen is a major factor in deciding the type of bamboo that you need.

Bamboo is available in many shapes and sizes, with a height that ranges anywhere from 15 feet to over 40 feet tall and clump sizes between 3-4 to 6+ feet in diameter. If you have a small yard, then you may want a bamboo that grows in smaller, tighter clumps for creating your privacy screen. Whereas, if you have a large space, then you are going to want an appropriately sized bamboo for creating a privacy screen.

Define A Purpose

Whether you are simply looking to block your neighbors’ windows or unsightly yard, or just trying to create your own green oasis, defining a purpose for your bamboo beforehand can play major role in helping you determine the type of bamboo you need.

For example, if you’re tired of looking out your second-story window and seeing an unsightly construction zone, then are going to want a taller growing bamboo. However, if you’re looking to create an entire bamboo privacy fence around your backyard, then you may only want to bamboo that grows between 15 and 25 feet in height. By defining a purpose for your bamboo plants for privacy, you can narrow your options and help choose the ultimate bamboo for your needs.

Screening, Hedges, Fences Or Landscaping

Bamboo is a highly versatile plant that can be used in a number of ways for privacy. From growing living green screens and privacy fences to creating a landscape focal point, deciding exactly how you’re going to use your bamboo can help you determine what type of bamboo you need.

Bamboo Attributes

Creating a living green screen is fairly easy to do when you use bamboo plants, however, you are going to be looking at it for a long time. This is why it is important for you to consider the various attributes of different varieties of bamboo plants for privacy.

While the ultimate goal, of course, is to create a living green privacy screen, these rapidly growing grasses have much more to offer than just privacy. With hundreds of different types of bamboo plants available, there are also a significant amount of visually pleasing and aesthetic attributes to choose from. So, in addition to making an economical and environmentally friendly choice for your privacy fence, you can also choose to create a beautiful living oasis that is specially designed to suit your tastes. Just like flowers, bamboo varieties are available in a range of colors, such as yellow, blue, black and numerous shades of green.

Here is a rundown of 4 of the most popular clumping bamboo plants for privacy and their attributes:

Oldhamii Bamboo

A favorite of landscape architects, you may have seen this bamboo before. As a true giant bamboo, it is typically used as a landscape centerpiece due to its straight upright growth and 6 to 8 foot diameter clumps. In fact, Oldhamii Bamboo can be found extensively throughout Disney World.

When using Oldhamii Bamboo plants for privacy, you should first make sure that you have adequate room to accommodate its 6+ foot wide clumping base and 50 to 55 foot tall stalks. This is the perfect bamboo for providing 2 to 4 story buildings with a significant amount of greenery and privacy on all levels. When planted 6 to 8 feet apart, you can create an amazing, living privacy screen. However, Oldhamii is also an exquisite showstopper when planted as an individual specimen.

Seabreeze Bamboo

Another favorite of landscape architects when creating living green screens and privacy fences is Seabreeze Bamboo. Seabreeze Bamboo plants for privacy are considered one of the best choices due to their numerous lateral branches and thick screening foliage, which provide a fuller, thicker and more efficient green screen. In addition to this, is also a more economical choice, since a starter plant will quickly fill a space that is at 6 feet wide and 30 to 35 feet high.

This clumping bamboo is considered as the perfect combination of straight and bushy bamboo, creating an attractive overall for. In many ways, Seabreeze Bamboo is also considered more hardy, salt tolerant and easier to maintain than other varieties of bamboo plants for privacy.

Gracilis Graceful Bamboo

Often refered to as Graceful Bamboo, Gracilis Bamboo is one of the most popular landscape bamboos that are used today. With long, gracefully flowing leaves, this clumping bamboo is just as effective at privacy screening as it is beautiful to look at. Growing in tightly formed clumps that are typically between 3 and 4 feet in diameter, and reaching an overall height between 20 and 25 feet tall, this, bamboo is a favorite for both commercial and residential landscaping purposes.

Many landscape architects are now using Graceful Bamboo in place of Areca Palms, and are enjoying both financial and visual benefits from this switch. Gracilis is easily groomed and requires little to no maintenance, which is another major benefit for those who don’t have the time for regular maintenance.

Blue Chungii Bamboo

Blue Chungii Bamboo is a smaller variety of clumping bamboo that is often chosen for its magnificent visual appeal. This unique bamboo makes a great stand-alone specimen, or living green screen when it is planted 6 to 8 feet apart. Growing in clumps that are approximately 4 feet in diameter, this bamboo’s most appealing feature is the white powder bloom that covers new culms and gives an overall light blue hue to the canes.

Blue Chungii Bamboo is not only a favorite for its beautiful blue hue, but it is also a favorite choice for smaller yard and landscaping projects. With a fully mature height that reaches between 15 and 25 feet tall, in combination with its small clumping diameter, Blue Chungii Bamboo is one of the most popular bamboo varieties available.

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