In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook heads to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he helps a pair of homeowners select and plant a privacy screen using bamboo plants.
Project details
Skill
Cost
Estimated Time
Steps for Planting Bamboo Trees
- Space bamboo plants 5 to 6 feet apart in a staggered row to create a more natural look.
- For each plant, dig a hole two to three times wider than the plant container, and as deep as the height of the container.
- Use a garden hose to flood each plant hole with water, then wet the soil around the holes.
- To the soil removed from each hole, add two wheelbarrows of planter’s mix (compost and organic fertilizer). Use a shovel to thoroughly combine the mix with the soil.
- Moisten the mixed soil with water before backfilling.
- Pull each plant from its container and place it in the hole.
- Back fill around each root ball with moistened, mixed soil.
- Soak the area around each plant with water.
- Punch a hole into the existing irrigation line and insert a 2-gallon-per-hour emitter.
- Cut a length of irrigation tubing to reach from the main irrigation line to the center of the plant.
- Attach one end of the tube to the emitter and lay the other end near the plant.
- Repeat to add three more irrigation lines, spacing them evenly around the plant.
- Cover the root ball and irrigation tubing with 2 inches of cedar bark mulch.
Materials
- Garden hose
- Wheelbarrow
- Shovel
Tools
Related
10 Ways to Add Privacy to Your Backyard
Tools & Materials
- Aviation snips
- Hole-punch tool
