6 Best Bamboo Screening for 2024 | Australian Buying Guide

Types of Bamboo Screening

First, let’s get to grips with the different types of bamboo screening. There are four major variations in bamboo screening; planed bamboo; whole bamboo; bamboo trellis; expanding bamboo trellis.

• Planed bamboo is the best money saving option, as for every bamboo stem harvested for manufacturing the fence, you get around 3cm of fence. 
• With whole bamboo using young shoots, every stem harvested will make around 1cm of fence. Both options are usually fairly cheap, but the coat can vary greatly depending on the thickness of bamboo.
  
  But what you’re willing to pay makes a huge difference in the impact the fence will have on your garden.
• Bamboo trellis is a great money saving option, usually supplied with thicker stems for more durable bamboo screening, but also for a higher impact – especially in gardens that are trying to achieve an oriental look.
  
  Trellis needs proper installation though as it won’t hold up to the wind in the same way as screening.
• The cheapest option by far is expanding bamboo trellis, which won’t give you instant impact, but is a great money saving way to install a bamboo privacy screen, as long as you’re willing to wait for plants to grow through it.

How to Choose the Best Quality Bamboo Screening

Black bamboo, red bamboo and yellow bamboo are all durable enough to withstand wind, the weight of plants and the occasional football being kicked at them.

I prefer black bamboo for the contemporary darkness it adds to the back of our garden (traditionally, white was said to make gardens seem bigger, but black creates an endlessness to spaces, particularly when the colour comes from natural materials.

The best measure of the quality of bamboo screening is the thickness of each stem in the screen. Planed bamboo is the weakest, so for fences that need added security, always spend a bit more and go for the thicker bamboo screening.

Using Bamboo for Privacy

Creating a bamboo privacy screen is a great way to block out nosey neighbours without upsetting them. The great benefit of cheap bamboo screens is that they are lightweight, so depending on planning permissions in your part of Australia, can be attached to the fence to add extra height.

The other option, where you don’t already have a fence in place, is to install fence posts, and use wire to attach them around your garden boundary. Creating this kind of bamboo fence screening is a great way to boost privacy, but keep light coming into the garden.

Using Bamboo for Climbing Plants

Bamboo trellis, particularly the adaptable expanding bamboo trellis is a wonderful natural way to add height to the garden, but for long lengths of fence, adding a normal bamboo privacy screen can do the same job.

Plants like Virginia Creeper will crawl through the gaps between the bamboo and grow into a dense crimson mat along your fence with no need to train them at all.

Because of the way most bamboo screen is built, there are loads of wires to tie twine to, if you want to grow roses or high maintenance climbers to your bamboo fence.

How to Install Bamboo Screening

Depending on where you are putting it, there are three really easy ways to install bamboo screening.

Installing Bamboo Fence Screening or Bamboo Trellis 

If you are attaching to an existing fence or post, simply roll the screen out along the fence (being careful not to damage any plants in the border in front of the fence), and use garden wire, or galvanised steel wire to tie the bamboo privacy screen to the fence. This gives your garden an instant facelift without any tools.

Installing Bamboo Privacy Screen

If you want to add height to existing fences, then installation is the same as above, but along each fence panel, secure a tanalised or treated length of timber (the same width as your fence) horizontally around 1m below the top of the fence.

Roll out the bamboo screen along the fence, and with someone to help you, lift it onto the batten. Then all you need to do is tie it to the batten at the bottom, and put some screws at the top of the fence so you have something to tie to at the top.

This is the method we’ve used in our own garden and it has lasted years.

Installing a Bamboo Fence

To install a self-standing bamboo fence, choose a thick bamboo that can hold up to pressure and won’t sag. First, bury fence posts the same height as your bamboo screen, and set them in fast drying concrete (always use a spirit level).

One they have set in place, just screw or tie the fence panel to the posts (most concrete is fully set in 1 hour in warm weather).

1. VidaXL Outdoor Bamboo Fence

It might seem overpriced when compared to the size of the Eden bamboo screening, but the VidaXL Bamboo Fence is much more durable, made from whole bamboo stems, rather than planed bamboo stems.

The round stems also add an honest texture to your walls and fences that can’t be duplicated with cheaper planed bamboo.

2. Eden Bamboo Screening

Eden Bamboo Screening, sold exclusively at Bunnings, is made from 100% renewable materials by a trusted brand. It’s the best value option in our review selection too, covering a huge 1.8m height, by 3m across.

3. PLMOKN Bamboo Fence Screening Panel

Together with its chunky bamboo, and its galvanised iron, this is the most beautiful and most substantially sturdy bamboo screen we’ve reviewed. 

Ok, so it’s expensive and its coverage is limited, but if you want instant impact in the garden, and need it to feel natural, with a clear nod to the natural habitats of bamboo, then the PLMOKN bamboo fence panel is the only real choice.

4. WWW Garden Bamboo Screening Fence

If you want to brighten up your garden, then white bamboo might be the way to go. Like the PLMOKN screen, the bamboo screen from WWW is more expensive, but makes up for that in quality and stability, with better coverage than most privacy screens made from mature bamboo.

5. VidaXL Bamboo Privacy Screen

The VidaXL bamboo screen is the less durable planed bamboo, similar to the Eden bamboo screening, but runs 4m in length.

Personally, I prefer the colour of this bamboo to the white bamboo used by Eden, but it comes with the disadvantage of a lower height, which is perfect for raised screening, but not great for fence panels.

6. HL-Fence Expanding Garden Bamboo Trellis

The free-standing trellis from HL-Fence is a similar and adaptable solution for bamboo screening. As well as being expandable, it has the option to be used as a self-standing picket fence, or attached to the top of an existing fence to climb plants through for a natural looking privacy screen.

For value, visual and ease of install, the Vida XL Bamboo Fence gets our Best Buy title. For such great coverage and a screening that could last for up to 20 years it really can’t be beaten.

I also like the adaptability of this bamboo screen, which is substantial enough to make an impact, but not so chunky that it would be challenging to install.

OK, so the Eden Bamboo Screening might not last forever, but for about $8 per metre it's such good value that you don’t need to worry about getting things wrong and experimenting with different placements.

The entire bamboo panel and all its fittings are renewable, compostable and sustainable too, which is more than can be said about some others. Sometimes cheap and cheerful is what you need.

It might be expensive but I actually think the PLMOKN Bamboo Screening Fence Panel is great value. The sturdy mature bamboo is held together with durable galvanised iron wire, drilled through the bamboo rather than wrapped around it, which helps to keep a good level while installing too.

Bamboo Screening FAQs

Is Bamboo screening sustainable?

Yes, bamboo screening is a very sustainable product. So much so that most sustainable gardening uses this type of screening. In fact, many kitchen and homeware manufacturers have begun using bamboo ply as a replacement for harvested timber as bamboo requires no reseeding.

And, if allowed to grow to maturity, will regrow within a few years once harvested, actually benefiting the environment in the process. Bamboo screen is even more sustainable, given the reduced manufacturing processes involved in its production.

What is bamboo?

Bamboo is a giant grass which originated in china. While it will grow anywhere in the world, it can be an incredibly invasive plant, so if you ever consider growing a bamboo hedge, make sure to look for clumping bamboo. 

How long will bamboo screen last?

A well-made bamboo screen will last at least 15-20 years, and you can prolong its lifetime with timber care products specifically manufactured for bamboo.