A small rock garden could be a standout feature in your rather green area. Create rock gardens to give prominence to areas that do not appear attractive such as slopes.
These types of gardens are low maintenance where low-demanding plants tend to thrive.
There are many rock garden designs in practice, but here are photos of the stunning plants and planting style used at the Kew Rock Garden in London. They are great inspiration for both small and large rock gardens,
Watch the video and see the images.
Here are some suggestions to consider if you only have a small garden or just wish to transform a tiny portion of your yard into the garden of a rock.
Here are the 7 ideas you can find in this video:
00:00 Rock Garden Ideas For Small Spaces
00:20 Rock garden with grasses and Bamboo
00:36 Alpine garden with waterfall
00:52 Garden with rockery and alpine plants
01:00 Mediterranean dry garden
01:20 Garden with rockery, pebbles and flowers
01:40 Rock garden with succulents
Rock gardens are an excellent option for small gardens. If you’re looking for an easy-to-maintain garden for small spaces, these ideas will inspire you.
Fargesia Nitida 'Jiuzhaigou' (commonly known as the Red Panda Fargesia Bamboo) is a clump-forming dwarf bamboo.
The stems of this bamboo emerge green, turn deep red and mature to yellowish-orange. It is known that the change in colours is a response to the amount of light the stems receive.
Unlike the other Fargesias, Fargesia Nitida 'Jiuzhaigou' requires a good amount of sunlight.
The clump-forming bamboo thrives in moist well-drained soils.
When planted in large pots and containers, the soil must be kept moist and nutrient-rich.
Bamboo Fargesia 'Jiuzhaigou' features
Fargesia nitida 'Jiuzhaigou’ is a hardy bamboo, it grows to an average height of 3 metres and spread 2 metres in clump formation.
Spectacular change in the colour of the culms/stems from emerging green to deep red and aged to yellowish orange.
Grow in south facing gardens as it needs sunlight for the best result.
7 Types of Fargesia Nitida Fountain Bamboos
We featured 7 common types of the Nitida group. A spectacular non-invasive bamboo plant, it will not send its shoots away from the parent plant.
The clumps form a dense upright wall to support the ‘fountain’ foliage.
Fargesia nitida is among the stunning Fargesia bamboos in the UK, owing their names to the appearances of the evergreen fountain-like foliage and coloured stems.
Here are four articles packed with informational guides for bamboo growers.
Click on the links to read about how to propagate bamboo plants.
The Scottish Bamboo (Phyllostachys humilis) is a mini running bamboo with lush evergreen foliage forming on the culms from the ground up, an excellent bamboo for hedge and privacy screens.
This bamboo grows exceptionally well in confined spaces. Commonly used as centrepieces and in Japanese Gardens designs. It's an RHS Merit Award winner for its desirable garden features.
Buy Bamboo Humilis Scottish Bamboo
The Scottish Bamboo Humilis (Phyllostachys Humilis) makes an ideal plant for contained spaces. In fact, it will do well in pots and containers or in small garden spaces.
The tough dense foliage can be pruned and trimmed to give a neat appearance.
Neatly trimmed, the dense evergreen foliage will form a compacted small screen or hedge, best for small balconies, terraces, boundaries and hedges.
To buy the Scottis bamboo, check out the bamboo suppliers we listed here. Get your bamboo plants from the top UK Home and Garden retailers like Crocus and YouGarden.
Phyllostachys humilis bamboo features
Name/s: Phyllostachys humilis, Scottish Bamboo.
Site: Grows well in full sun or partial shade.
Soil: Well-drained clay, sand or loam soil.
Uses: Privacy screen, pots and containers, grows well in confined spaces.
Winterhardiness: Hardy to – 25 degrees Celsius.
Height: small bamboo 3 – 5m.
Spread: 3m (behaves like clump-forming bamboo in cooler climates)
Foliage: Evergreen dense foliage
Culm colour: Bright green
Phyllostachys Humilis behaves like clump-forming bamboo
The Phyllostachys humilis is also called the Scottish Bamboo. At 5m, it is small compared to the other Phyllostachys bamboos.
An outstanding small bamboo plant, its green dense foliage starts from the ground up. The slender cluster of outer leaves can be pruned to give a compacted and impenetrable screen.
Although the Scottish Bamboo is a running bamboo, it behaves like clump-forming bamboo in a cooler temperate climate.
Another running bamboo that behaves like a clump-former is the Black Bamboo Nigra.
Scottish Bamboo Care
The Scottish Bamboo is a low-maintenance bamboo, the mature plants are undemanding.
This miniature running bamboo will thrive where there is well-drained loamy soil, high in moisture and nutrient contents.
Like most bamboo plants in the UK, they do not grow well in compacted soil.
A hardy plant, the Scottish Bamboo can withstand temperatures of – 25 degrees Celsius, but lower temperatures can damage the new shoots and leaves.
Prune Scottish Bamboo hedge and screen
The leaves are rich green in direct sun but turn light green where there is less light.
For the best result, grow then in areas where there is plenty of light or in part shade. They will struggle to grow where there is heavy shade.
The majority of the Phyllostachys bamboo plants are not tolerant to pruning because of the thinning of the leaves up the culms.
However, the Phyllostachys Humilis Scottish Bamboo is one of the few bamboos that you can prune to give the best effect.
They are best for screens and garden hedges.
Propagate Scottish Bamboo
Although the Phyllostachys Humilis Scottish Bamboo is a low-maintenance plant, the new growth will require care and attention.
Slugs can wipe off the fresh leaves in one visit if left unprotected.
If you are propagating bamboo either from the rhizome or culm cuttings or planting a recent purchase, protect the new growths by adding Slug and Snail Killer.
Squirrels are also a threat to the new bamboo shoots. [VIDEO]
Bamboos are amazing plants, they come in different sizes, shapes and colours. Some are clumping whereas others are running.
There are small bamboo plants for sale for almost any situation. Some small bamboo plants are best for shade.
Take a look at the best small bamboo plants for shade that thrive in the UK, US, NZ, Canada and Australia - follow the link to identify which one is best for you.
Uses of small bamboo plants
Bamboo plants are becoming a popular oriental plant and it’s easy to see why. Bamboos add an oriental touch to your garden and patio. They are hardy and come as either running or clumping bamboo.
Many small bamboo plants are ideal for garden hedges and undercover plants and they can thrive in shades.
In addition, they are undemanding plants and will grow well in the UK climate, great for
As gardeners, you’d want an ideal bamboo plant, one that provides the evergreen cover, low maintenance and is fast-growing.
We’ve researched nearly 100 running and clumping bamboos here at Garden Bamboo Plants. The heavy work is cut out for you so that you can use the summarised information to select the right bamboo.
The best thing to do is to check the top garden features of each bamboo and decide what’s ideal.
Use the article to find the best small bamboo plants for growing indoors or outdoors. Either way, this information will give you the confidence for growing bamboo and enjoy the greenery for many years.
As mentioned earlier, each article provides the insight you need to select the best small bamboo plants, which thrive in the UK.
One of the best things listed in each article is the suggestions on how to use each bamboo plant.
Many of these plants have been used successfully as garden hedging and privacy screening plants.
So check out the uses because it will give you an idea about growing it as garden plants or in pots and containers.
We hope that this article points you in the right direction, where you can find the best small bamboo plants to grow in pots or in the garden.
