Giant Timber Bamboo

Giant Timber Bamboo (Bambusa oldhamii) is the quickest way to build a screen tall enough to block a two storey outlook. It reaches around 12m in a clump about 4m across, and it is a clumping bamboo rather than a running one, so it stays where you plant it. The canes carry foliage high, which is why it covers what a hedge never can.

Why you'll love it

• Height a hedge cannot reach. At roughly 12m it screens upper windows and the back of a neighbouring roof, not just the fence line.
• Clumping, not running. The roots are non-invasive and the clump widens slowly from its own centre instead of sending runners under a fence.
• Genuinely fast. New canes push up through the warm months and reach close to full height in one season, then leaf out the next.
• Tough where other screens fail. Wind, humidity, heat and wet soil are all fine, so it suits a damp low corner that drowns a conventional hedge.
• Safe around pets. Not toxic to cats or dogs.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 2m apart in a single row for a tall dense screen. Closer than that and the clumps crowd each other, which makes thinning awkward within a few years.

Windbreaks. Canes flex in a gale rather than snapping, and the open habit filters wind instead of blocking it, which is what an exposed block needs.

Feature and mass planting. A single clump reads as living sculpture, and a drift at 2m centres suits a large bank.

Growing Giant Timber Bamboo in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the thickest canes. This is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so foliage burns in cold inland districts, the tablelands and hard frosting southern gardens.

Soil. Not fussy about type, and it tolerates wet feet, but it repays compost worked through the bed. Mulch 75mm deep and keep it clear of emerging shoots.

Water and feed. Water generously through the first two summers, because new canes only size up when the clump is never short of moisture. Feed a high nitrogen or lawn fertiliser in early spring and midsummer.

Pruning. Thin the oldest canes at ground level each winter and strip the lower branches to show the culms. A topped cane never regrows its height, so shape the clump by removal.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in 200mm packs of six, 250mm packs of three, single 300mm and 400mm pots, and 200L. The 200mm and 250mm sizes are young divisions with a few thin canes and suit a long boundary. The 300mm, 400mm and 200L plants hold established clumps with real presence.

Bamboo travels well, though it often sheds older leaves in transit, which is normal. Expect the first season to go into roots, with the tall canes arriving in the second and third year. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to plant and manage a bamboo screen
• Compare bamboo varieties for screening
• Plants that stand up to wind

Common questions

Will it take over the garden?

No. This is a clumping bamboo, so the rhizomes are short and the clump expands only a little each year from its own base. Running bamboos are the ones that travel.

Can I keep it shorter than 12m?

Not by cutting the tops, because a topped cane holds that height for life. The practical method is to remove the tallest canes at ground level each year, which keeps the clump around 6m to 8m.

How much litter does it drop?

Bamboo sheds leaves steadily rather than all at once, so there is light litter under the clump for most of the year. Left in place it makes its own mulch.