Black Bamboo

Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) description

Black Bamboo originates in South Central China where it is has a myriad of uses, from food to building materials and even musical instruments! Here in the UK however, we love black bamboo for its ornamental qualities, with it fast becoming a favourite design element in our gardens, either as a stand-alone feature or as an evergreen screen or exotic hedge. Black Bamboo creates a unique focal point in any garden with its ebony arching canes and long, slender leaves which flutter and sway attractively in the breeze and can instantly create a calming, peaceful space.

Black bamboo is extremely fast-growing so it is best planted in a spacious area, allowing it to spread. Whilst this species is classed as a 'running' bamboo which means its roots can spread out quickly, it is easy to restrict its spread. We recommend using a solid, impenetrable root barrier when planting and be vigilant at cutting back the new canes as they appear. Phyllostachys nigra prefers moist to well-drained soils in a sheltered, sunny to partially shaded site. Black Bamboo requires regular watering until it is established.

Most common uses for Black Bamboo hedging

Once the black bamboo plants have settled in and the tall, black canes have arrived, Phyllostachys nigra makes a wonderfully attractive, evergreen privacy screen or hedge. However, it can also be grown in large containers as an eye-catching addition to the patio, creating a restful space with soft movement. Interestingly, it can be useful in areas where deer may be a problem as they tend to avoid it.

Combine Phyllostachys nigra with

We recommend growing this evergreen plant alone to create a dense, effective and attractive black bamboo hedge, or as a stand-alone feature in a large pot.

Growth rate of Black Bamboo

Phyllostachys nigra is very fast growing and can achieve more than 60cm pa. Black Bamboo will reach heights of up to 4m+ but can be maintained at a more reasonable height.

Care advice for Phyllostachys nigra hedges

As Phyllostachys nigra is a fast growing plant it will need to be pruned regularly to prevent from spreading farther than desired. In the spring, unwanted or spindly canes should be cut down to ground level. New black bamboo shoots should also be pruned once they grow taller than the already established stems. Please view the best4hedging Care and Planting instructions in our Advice section.

Suggested planting density

For information on planting density for Black Bamboo please see the product table above. In the 'No. Per Metre' column, you will find our recommended plant density for each individual plant species and root type.

Black Bamboo hedges are available to buy year-round as Pot Grown plants.

The majority of our Black Bamboo hedging is UK grown by our hands-on experts who have years of nursery growing know-how. On the rare occasion that we source Black Bamboo from outside of the UK, we make it our priority to ensure that our suppliers are unbeaten on quality. At best4hedging we make every effort to make sure that your black bamboo plants reach you in the freshest condition and that they are of the highest standard, all whilst protecting our superb prices. Rest assured, you can buy Phyllostachys nigra hedging plants online with absolute confidence.

• Orders £85 & over (ex. VAT) to mainland UK are delivered FREE* (Exceptions apply - see below for Scottish Highlands etc)
• Orders under £85 (ex. VAT) to mainland UK £9.95
• At an additional cost, we can deliver to Scottish Highlands & Islands, which we classify as including AB (Aberdeen) and DD (Dundee) postcodes, as well as Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Isle Man. The exact delivery cost is order specific and will need to be quoted by one of our team, so please contact us on 01257 261 243

*For some plants that are too heavy or too tall to be packed in cardboard boxes we use pallet deliveries. In these circumstances, we require a minimum order value of £200 (ex VAT) for free delivery, or you can make a contribution towards the delivery cost. Look out for the information on product pages which explains this further where applicable and if your order is for less than £200 (ex VAT) please call or email us to agree upon a delivery contribution. This requirement only applies to those plants where it is clearly indicated on the product page

Pallet deliveries are always undertaken on an 18-tonne vehicle (similar in size to a standard refuse vehicle). If for any reason you require a smaller vehicle please contact our sales team who can arrange this for you. There will be an additional surcharge applied for small vehicle deliveries

Delivery Timescales

99% of our orders are dispatched within 3 to 5 working days of receipt and most the day after the order is placed. We can do “next day delivery” on many of our products for an additional £12 (incl VAT) but please call on 01257 494 491 before placing your order to check.

We can also deliver on a specified date to suit you. Please indicate the date you would like to receive delivery in the notes section of the checkout (or place your order by phone) and we’ll do our utmost to meet that date.

Occasional hiccups can occur (such as broken down vehicles) and although we are very experienced in logistics we cannot be held liable for costs incurred or inconvenience due to late deliveries - see terms and conditions for more information.

You will receive an email or telephone call confirming the dispatch of your order 24/48 hours before it arrives with you.

Exceptions to our quick turnaround timescale

Pre-orders - if you have placed an order that includes products on pre-order, then they will be dispatched to you as soon as they are available. If your order includes pre-order bare roots or root balls you will be notified once they are being dispatched (root balls from mid to late October and bare roots from early to mid-November).

Root balls - lifting root balls involves the use of complex, heavy machinery, this lifting is carried out twice a week in the root ball season so we do still have a prompt turnaround timescale but if your order has just missed one lifting, it will be a few days before we lift again. We are always happy to confirm when we can deliver to you before you order. The benefit of this method of supplying root balls is that they are always fresh and therefore have a higher success rate than root balls that are stored out of the soil.

Weather conditions can affect dispatch - bare root and root ball plants are not lifted if the ground is too cold (it damages the roots) and the delivery of all plants can be affected if the water supply is frozen (because we water all plants before packing). Extremely hot weather can also be challenging and occasionally we hold backorders for species that are particularly vulnerable. We ask our customers to be mindful of bank holidays when couriers are not active.

We'd like to stress that although there are exceptions, the vast majority of our orders are dispatched extremely quickly and we are proud of our logistics developed over many years of delivering plants to tens of thousands of customers.

Returns

We inspect plants carefully before dispatch but accept that very occasionally things may go wrong. 
You can return your plants (within 14 days) for a refund or replacement (we’ll help with the process of returning). If your plants arrived damaged then returns are free of charge. However, we ask that you inform us as soon as possible. If you’d like to return your plants because of a change of plan or if we do not agree that the plants are significantly damaged (the loss of a few leaves in transit or a loose pot on arrival, for example, wouldn't be harmful to the plants), then we may ask you to pay the full or partial return costs if you still wanted to return them. We’re very reasonable and always aim for complete satisfaction as demonstrated by our amazing Feefo customer reviews which can be viewed here.

Should you wish to return any products that you have over-bought, no longer require or purchased in error you will incur both a return cost (different charges for pallets and Boxes) and the original cost of delivery incurred by Best4hedging. Please contact the Service team for charges and/or to organise a return. Plants will be subject to a quality control check from our Nursery upon return before any refund is authorised and processed.

Please note that in the case of damaged plants, if you have not notified us of a problem within 14 days of delivery, we consider you to have accepted the plants and Best4Hedging has no further liability for them should they fail.

You can read more about our returns policy in our terms and conditions here.

You can buy with confidence from best4hedging.

We accept all major credit and debit cards. We have also partnered with PayPal to provide a further, secure payment option.

You can order online or over the phone by calling our dedicated Sales & Advice team. 

If you have any further questions in regards to payment, please do get in touch. You can read our Terms & Conditions here.

Call our Sales & Advice team on 01257 261 243

Email us at [email protected]