Elatus Bamboo

Elatus Bamboo (Nastus elatus) is the tall clumping bamboo for a tropical garden that needs a screen in a hurry. It runs to about 10m tall in a clump around 3m across, with dark culms and a soft arching top, and the new shoots are among the sweetest of any edible bamboo. Because it clumps rather than runs, it stays where you plant it.

Why you'll love it

• Clumping, not running. The rhizomes stay in a tight crown, so there is no underground escape into the neighbouring yard or the lawn.
• Fast height. Through a warm wet season it pushes up new culms quickly, giving a 10m screen far sooner than any tree could.
• Shoots worth eating. New Guinea bamboo is grown commercially for its shoots, which are sweet enough to use raw.
• Built for the tropics. Humidity, heat and coastal wind all work in its favour rather than against it.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 2m apart for a dense tall screen. A single row at that spacing closes into a solid green wall and covers a two storey outlook that no hedge can reach.

Windbreak. Bamboo filters wind rather than blocking it, so a row along an exposed boundary takes the sting out without the turbulence a solid fence creates.

Feature planting. Given room, a single clump reads as a piece of architecture, particularly lit from below at night.

Growing elatus bamboo in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, and strictly tropical or warm subtropical. It is frost tender, so any garden that frosts is the wrong garden for it. Warm humid coastal country in Queensland and northern New South Wales is where it performs.

Soil. Deep, rich, moisture retentive soil with plenty of compost dug through before planting. Bamboo is a grass with a large appetite, and thin sandy ground produces thin culms.

Water and feed. Water generously, especially through the shooting season in spring and summer, because a dry clump simply stops putting up new culms. Feed with a high nitrogen or lawn type fertiliser three times over the warm months.

Pruning. Thin the oldest culms at ground level each year to keep light in the clump, and shorten the tops if the arch leans further than you want. Never cut a culm expecting it to grow taller, because each one reaches full height in its first season.

What to expect when it arrives

Elatus Bamboo is supplied in 200mm pots, sold as a pack of six, which covers roughly 10m of screen at 2m spacing. Each plant arrives as an established young clump carrying a few slender culms, nothing like its mature size.

The first year is spent building roots and the culms stay thin. From the second and third seasons the height and diameter jump noticeably, which is normal for clumping bamboo. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• A complete guide to screening with bamboo
• Bamboo varieties chosen for screening
• Browse the full bamboo range
• Plants for tropical climates

Common questions

Will it spread into my neighbour's yard?

No. This is a clumping bamboo, so the rhizomes stay in a compact crown and the clump widens slowly to about 3m. Running bamboos are the ones with the reputation, and this is not one.

Can I really eat the shoots?

Yes. New Guinea bamboo is prized for sweet shoots that can be eaten raw, unlike most bamboos which need boiling first. Cut them young, before they lengthen and toughen.

How much cold can it take?

Very little. It is frost tender and wants a frost free position. A genuine frost damages the foliage and sets the clump back a season.

How far from a fence should I plant it?

Allow at least 1.5m from the fence line so the mature 3m clump has room and the arching tops do not lean on the palings.