When we bought our house thirteen years ago, we discovered there was a privacy issue with the half-way house behind our property. There was nothing but a chain link fence between our back yard and this undesirable neighbor.
I thought a permanent solution would be to plant some bamboo next to the fence, Over the years, it grew, and spread. Some of the stalks rose some twenty feet up.
About three years ago, Carlos brought home a small potted plant called fo-ti. He was told it liked to grow next to a fence, so I planted it next to the bamboo. I watched it grow, twirling its way in and out of the chain links, filling in all the gaps until it looked like a solid green curtain of leaves. Quite pretty, and very private. Eventually, it wound its way to the top of the bamboo plants and latched on to the nearby trees.
I began to worry the fo ti was going to take over the entire area, so I took it upon myself to get rid of it. I found that in order to do this, I had to chop down all the bamboo plants. The removal of the visible parts of these plants was tedious, yet simple enough. Nothing, really, compared to the network of roots I have unearthed, so thick and tough I can hardly get a pitch fork or shovel through it. It has turned into a full blown project. I swear I'll never plant another bamboo shoot, much less an innocent looking monster like fo ti.
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2 comments:
Never heard of fo ti. Has it nice foiage ? I would like to have it grow up our front yard trees.
Gotta watch those thriving tropical species in a climate like yours!
Here, winter would keep it in check. Me? I love bamboo, as wily a beast as it may be.
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