Slender Weavers Bamboo Bambusa textilis Gracilis

Height without width is what Bambusa textilis Gracilis offers. Its slim culms, about the thickness of a broom handle, rise nearly straight before the tips arch over, and the clump stays remarkably narrow for its height, so it puts real height into a strip of ground where a hedge of the same height would need far more width.

The trade sits at the bottom of the plant. As the clump matures the culms drop their lower branches and hold their leaf in the upper part, so the bottom metre or so becomes mostly bare culm. That suits the usual problem, a neighbour's upstairs window or a two storey wall. It does less for a low view across a fence at eye level, and the practical fix there is a lower plant in front, or simply letting the fence handle the bottom of the job.

A clumper that takes a cold winter

Most clumping bamboos are tropical and stall when the nights turn cold. Weavers bamboo is one of the hardier ones, along with Hedge Bamboo and Giant Timber Bamboo. It copes with frost that would burn the tropical species and grows well in Melbourne gardens, as well as through Sydney and south east Queensland. In full sun the crown is thickest; it grows in part shade too, though it leans toward the light. Dig compost through the planting hole, soak it deeply whenever the top few centimetres dry out through its first two summers, and keep the root zone under a thick mulch, because the feeding roots run shallow and dry out fast.

Growth is quick once it settles, and nearly all of it happens in the warmer months, when new culms push up and reach full height within a couple of months. Feed in spring and early summer with a nitrogen rich fertiliser to carry that flush, and cut out any dead or broken culms at ground level in late winter.

Wind, lean and the neighbour's side of the fence

Those fine culms are light, and in wind or after heavy rain the weeping tips bow outward, often over the very fence you planted it to hide. Plant it far enough in from the boundary that the arching tips land on your side, and accept that trimming the outer face is part of owning it. Its rhizomes stay close to the parent, but the clump still widens every year and its mat of roots is dense and shallow, so keep it at least a metre clear of paths, edging and buried pipes. You can top culms to hold the screen down, but a topped culm loses the arching tip that gives the plant its look, and every summer's new culms arrive at full height regardless, so topping becomes an annual job.

Scale insects and mealybug sometimes settle where the branches leave the culm, and sooty mould shows up on the leaves beneath them. Thinning the clump so air moves through, plus a hard hosing, usually clears a light case; a heavier one needs horticultural oil. Like every bamboo it also sheds leaf through the year, most of it in spring, so think twice before running it along a pool fence. The guide to poolside planting covers what to put there instead.

Where it sits in the range

For a denser, lower screen that holds foliage right down to the ground and can be clipped, Malay Dwarf Bamboo is the closer fit, though it wants a warmer garden. For a windbreak or a big rural boundary, Giant Timber Bamboo works at a completely different scale, with thick culms and a clump to match. For a screen that has to work in its first season, look at the Super Advanced Trees 200L and Over.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 5 sizes, from 300mm up to 200L, priced from $259.00 to $1049.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to fast growing screening plants.