Growing Bamboo in Your Houston, Texas Garden

Bamboo is a terrific choice for privacy screens and hedges in your Houston, Texas garden. Most varieties are hard to kill, being disease resistant, drought tolerant, and able to survive the Houston, Texas winter without any problems. (Some Bamboo varieties can take cold down to 25 degrees.) Bamboo can vary in heights, with some averaging about ten feet while others reach towering heights of between 50 and 70 feet! They also vary in diameter by as much as ½ an inch to 12 inches, so be sure to research and choose the type of Bamboo you are looking for before planting. If you would like to grow Bamboo in your own Houston, Texas garden, try some of the varieties below.

Timor Black. Black Bamboo can be invasive, but Timor Black is a beautiful choice for your garden that can be more easily controlled. This gorgeous Bamboo is black with a purple gloss, and sometimes has green stripes. It can reach heights of up to seventy feet, and is a terrific privacy screen. Plant it in full to partial sun in the spring in your Houston, Texas garden, and keep this tropical plant well watered. If the Houston, Texas temperatures threaten frost in the winter, be sure to protect them as this variety will not tolerate these temperatures well. Black Bamboo will spread to about ten feet in width.

Chinese Goddess. This Bamboo has delicate leaves that make it quite beautiful as a groundcover in your Houston, Texas garden. A fast growing Bamboo, it will reach heights of up to six feet. Plant it in the full sun in your Houston, Texas garden where it will do best in soil with good drainage. This Bamboo is disease resistant and drought tolerant, too. It handles the Houston, Texas winter very well, and will regrow if damaged in temperatures that drop too cold. This is a good choice for hedges.

Golden Goddess. Another fast-growing Bamboo, you can expect heights of up to fifteen feet in your Houston, Texas garden. This is a good choice for a privacy screen, although it does very well in containers, too. It has graceful, golden culms that will add a touch of elegance to your Houston, Texas garden. Plant it in full sun, preferably in soil with good drainage. It is disease resistant and drought tolerant, and will survive the Houston, Texas winter without any issues.

Oldham. A great choice for hedges and privacy screens in your Houston, Texas garden, this Bamboo will reach heights of over fifty feet. This is a fast growing variety, and it will do best when planted in full sun in your garden. It can tolerate cold temperatures down to fifteen degrees (unlikely in Houston, Texas), and is also disease resistant and drought tolerant. This is a clumping Bamboo which will grow to be about four inches in diameter. It prefers soil with good drainage.

Weavers. This groundcover is a fast growing Bamboo with beautiful olive-green culms. Weavers Bamboo is used in China for weaving hats, rope, and baskets. Plant it in full sun in your Houston, Texas garden and expect heights of up to forty feet. This clumping variety is very hardy, drought tolerant and disease resistant. They survive the Houston, Texas winter without any problems.

Painted Buddha's Belly. One of the largest clumping Bamboos you can plant in your Houston, Texas garden, they can have diameters of up to twelve feet and reach heights of over fifty. This Bamboo is a great choice for hedges or privacy screens. Plant it in full to partial sun in your Houston, Texas garden, where it does best in soil that is slightly acidic. Painted Buddha's Belly has golden canes that are striped in green. It is disease resistant and doesn't mind the cold down to fifteen degrees (unlikely in Houston, Texas.)

Source list:

Personal experience
http://www.chron.com/apps/chron_data/plants.mpl