Photos of Giant Timber (Bambusa oldhamii)

 Below are two pictures of young Oldhamii shoots emerging around existing canes from previous years.  Like all clumping bamboos, Oldhamii begins sending up new shoots in late spring when the weather warms and continues shooting throughout the summer and into the fall.  

 

 

  Below is an example of two 7-gal Oldhamiis - tall plants in our nursery with 1-3 canes each.

 

Below is a line of 15-gal plants in our nursery.  The 15-gal plants are much taller and fuller than those in the 7-gal containers because they can support larger root systems.  In all bamboos it is the size of the root system that determines not only how many canes are produced each year but also their height and diameter.

Below, a sandhill crane struts past a mature stand of Oldhamii bamboo.

Photos of our own Homegrown Bamboo Poles

 Our own homegrown poles are not as straight as either the imported or designer quality polished poles.but they still work well for a variety of projects.  Below is a photo of the fence on both sides of our entry gate.  It is built out of a number of random diameter poles that were purposely cut at different heights to create a more informal look.

 

A close up, below, of one section of the entry fence.

 

An arbor built out of small (1" or less) diameter homegrown bamboo poles.

A simple fence, below, borders a flower garden with a bamboo bird feeder.

Below is a trade show display made out of our homegrown bamboo.

Another trade show booth used some of our freshly cut, green bamboo poles to create a more natural look.

Below is an orchid planter made from a short piece of our homegrown bamboo.

Photos of Black Bamboo Poles

Black bamboo poles tend to run slightly smaller than their named diameters.  Shown above are several 1.75" diameter poles and although the one being measured runs true to size, some of the other poles appear to have  somewhat smaller diameters.

We stock black poles in two lengths - 8' and 10' but longer poles are available by special order.

Photos of Imported Bamboo Half-round Poles

Half-round poles make excellent trim for both outdoor use (above) and indoor (below) applications.

Below, an entire interior wall is faced with half-round bamboo.

Below are a few samples of birdhouses, bird feeders and even a windowbox made out of bamboo half-rounds and imported bamboo poles.

Robbie Taylor, who built many of the bamboo structures at Beautiful Bamboo, adds some finishing touches to the door to the Art Gallery at our nursery.

Photos of Designer Quality Polished Bamboo Poles

These honey-colored domestic-grown bamboo poles are available in four sizes.  The sizes (from the left) are: 2" diameter, 2.5" diameter, 3" diameter and 4"-6" diameter.  As can be seen in the above photo, the culm section at the base of the larger size poles are spaced very close together but the farther up the pole you look (see picture below), the wider apart the culm sections become.  A 10' long pole with a 6" diameter base may

only be 5 inches or less at the top.

 The photo below shows the beginning stage of a bamboo gazebo. The upright posts are Designer Quality Polished Bamboo Poles while the roof rafters and cross pieces are made out of Imported Bamboo Poles.

 

Photos of Imported Bamboo Poles

An end view of 3" diameter x 10' long Imported Bamboo Poles.  As you can see in the photos, there is considerable variation in both the diameters and the thickness of the bamboo walls.

There's also a certain amount of variation in the color of all bamboo canes.  In the Imported Bamboo, the canes tend to be shades of tan.  On the left is the 1.25" x 6' pole followed by a 1.5" x 10, a 2" x 10 and a 3" x 10 pole.

 

  Building a wedding arbor or "chuppah" is a popular use of Imported Bamboo poles.

Photos of Reed Fencing

Reed Fencing provides a lightweight, inexpensive means to transform an area from a blah to beautiful. The roll comes in 6' tall x 15' lengths.  The pencil-thin reeds are woven together with wire and are easily cut to with a scissor.  The Reed Fencing works well for both indoor and outdoor projects.

Below are a few pictures of outdoor setting in which Reed Fencing has been used.

A customer covered a chain link fence with Reed Fencing before planting a hedge of clumping bamboo in order to form an immediate privacy screen with a tropical look.  One year later, the Reed Fencing is almost completely hidden behind the live plants.

Here at Beautiful Bamboo, the double doors on our barn are faced with Reed Fencing.

Below shows the same door two years later after the fencing has weathered a beautiful silver gray (and a clump of Angel Mist bamboo has grown in the space between the barn doors and the entrance to the art gallery).

 

Here are samples of some indoor applications.

Reed Fencing used to provide a tropical look to a spa room as seen from the outside (above) as well as from the inside (below). 

 And the same room from a different angle.

Below:

The interior walls of the Art Gallery at Beautiful Bamboo are covered with Reed Fencing and trimmed with half-rounds of imported bamboo poles.

 

 

Two different sizes of Bamboo Fencing

On the left, 4' tall x 8' long Bamboo Fencing.

On the right, 6' tall x 8' long Bamboo Fencing.

Both fences are made from 3/8" to 1/2" diameter pieces of bamboo woven together with coated wire.  The fencing can be cut into shorter lengths and heights or used as is to form attractive walls for both inside and outside use.

In the above photo, a customer used the 6' long Bamboo Fencing to provide filtered shade in a pergola.  Below is a closeup view of a roofing section.

Photos of Split Bamboo Fencing

Here's a close up look at both sides of the 6' tall x 12' long Split Bamboo Fencing. On the left, is the "back" of the fencing and on the right side of the picture you can see the fence's "front" side. Below are two longer views of the same roll of fencing.

Photos of Hawaiian Gold Timber Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris vittata)

Jenny stands next to a mature stand of Hawaiian Gold

New shoots emerge from the ground the same diameter that they will be when mature.  No matter what size cane emerges, it will grow to its full height in less than two months.  That's fast enough to measure the growth day-by-day

Photos of Angel Mist Timber Bamboo (Dendrocalamus minor amoenus)

Our daughter, Jenny, peaks through a 3-year-old

stand of Angel Mist.

 (Photo above and below)

Angel Mist culms surrounded by a groundcover of wandering jew and fallen culm covers

 Below: A close up of a "young" Angel Mist cane

 New shoots appear from May through October

Our son, Toby, stands next to a 2-year-old Angel Mist

What kind of bugs are on my bamboo?

A Florida-based customer wrote:

I bought several bamboo's from you a couple months ago,,,,3 graceful's and an Asian lemon. They are all doing well and already growing like crazy. However, the Asian lemon had a new shoot on it when we got it (of course now it is getting very tall), but I noticed in the last week or so that under the leaf that hugs the stalk, there are white web-like insect egg casings and when you peel it back, there are small oval shaped insects (kind of pinkish color) about 200 microns across or the thickness of 2 hairs (very small). Is this something I should be concerned about? So far, I've only noticed it in a couple areas.  I have Sevin insecticide that I've used to kill aphids and caterpillars. Should I use this or do you have a better solution?

My response:

The bug you've noticed is called mealy bug and it likes to suck the juices from tender new shoots. It may look nasty but on bamboo it seldom does any permanent damage. Mealy bugs only like the young shoots and bamboo grows so fast that it outgrows the bugs before they can do any damage. If it really bothers you, you can spray the shoots with a formula called Bayer Tree and Shrub found at most garden centers. On our property we try to minimize chemical use so we usually just let the bamboo do its thing - quickly outgrow the bugs.

Mealy bugs attack a young Bambusa oldhamii shoot that will soon outgrow the pests.

The customer wrote back to say:

Yes yes...I pulled up a picture of a mealy bug and that is exactly what it is!!

Thank you sooo much.  We love our bamboo!!

How do I divide off a section of a clumping bamboo?

A customer writes:
Hi, Sherry. I've been missing your column in the "Slantinel". They've been making so many changes in the last few months. Did you ever get a book published?

I have a question. I've got to move some of my bamboo; I made the mistake of putting some of it too close to other plants, and now I've got to make some room. I can see from your FAQ that now seems to be an okay time to do it, but what do I do, just dig it up and replant it? I was thinking of moving only half a clump to a new spot. Can I just slice down the middle, dig out what I want to transplant, and replant, or do I have to cut it back?

Thanks for any info you and Ralph can give me. All the bamboo I got from you is doing absolutely fantastic, especially with all this rain, and the seabreeze my daughter, Emily, put in has almost completely obscured the house next door.

Regards,
Dave


My response:
Hi Dave - My column only runs in the Lake County edition of the Orlando Sentinel now but you can read it online on my SIMPLY LIVING blog where I post new columns each Monday (you can sign up to be a FOLLOWER and receive automatic updates). I haven't gotten my book published yet but it is in the works.

You can certainly divide off a section of your existing clump but be forewarned: It ain't easy! Also, if you don't have to do it right now, it would be a little better if you waited until all the new shoots stopped growing and leafing out because any new shoots that haven't leafed out may not survive transplanting. Dividing during the late winter or early spring (before the new shoots emerge) is the ideal time to make divisions. Whenever you do it, it helps to use a sawsall to cut through the roots and to top the plants so only about a third of the top growth is left on the part you want to divide off. If you wet the ground down thoroughly before digging, it will make your job less difficult. After the section is divided off, make sure it is potted up and set in a shady place where it gets frequent watering to recuperate fully before setting back out into the ground.

I love getting letters from happy customers!

A customer wrote to say:
My father and I came to your nursery a couple times to pick up some bamboo and we found you to be very helpful. He had purchased bamboo from Kanapaha yearly sale and although that bamboo is doing well, the bamboo he bought from you is really sprouting shoots this year. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for all your help and to let you know that your bamboo is very healthy. My father has purchased the Giant Timber, Dwarf Buddha, Blue, and Angel mist from you and they all have done extremely well this summer! See ya next year!!!

My response:
Thanks for writing! We're always happy to hear that our bamboo babies have found such a happy home. Although it sounds like your plants are doing just fine, it never hurts to add a top dressing of organic matter around the base of your bamboos. You can use any of a number of materials: compost, manure, grass clippings, peat, leaves, our bamboo booster mix or any combination of those materials. Unlike trees, which don't like to have soil supplements right up against their trunks, bamboos don't mind at all if the canes are surrounded by additions of organic matter. The nutrients from those materials will leach into the soil and feed the roots. The result will be more explosive growth and even healthier plants.

Is it okay to plant a ground cover under my bamboos?

A customer from the Tampa area recently wrote:
Sherry, my wife and I recently (June) made the drive from Tampa and purchased 18 Asian Lemon bamboo from your farm. We have been EXTREMELY pleased. We started off with a total of 20 shoots in each of the 18 3-gal containers. We now have over 90 shoots in the entire planting. Absolutely love it!

We are now looking to add some ground cover for weed control. I do not want to smother out new shoots or plant anything the will "compete" with the bamboo. Our planting beds are approx 4 feet wide by 60 feet long. We were thinking about lantana. do you have any thoughts or opinions or recommendations?

My response:
I'm glad to hear the bamboos are doing so well. Lantana would work fine as a ground cover. At the nursery we've used three different plants as ground covers around the bamboos - Wandering Jew, Ruella and Wedelia - but other plants will work fine too. You don't have to worry that the ground covers will smother or compete with the bamboos. New shoots will have no difficulty growing up through them. I'm sure Lantana in any of its many colors will look lovely again the yellow with green-striped canes of Asian Lemon.


Ruella coexisting happily beneath a grove of Vivax running bamboo.


Wandering Jew beneath a clump of Angel Mist

Is green bamboo good for building?

A visitor to our website wrote:
I love your website! I have a question. You mention that you have green, just cut, bamboo. Can you actually make fences, etc from green bamboo or do you have to wait for it to dry out? I’m just thinking that if I buy and plant bamboo, I’d like to know whether I could build furniture with it as soon as it’s tall enough. Thanks!

My response:
Freshly cut bamboo will turn tan as it dries and it dries rather quickly, usually within a few months. It can certainly be used for building when green but, like any wood, as it dries, there is shrinkage. If you use freshly cut bamboo canes you'll need to factor that into your calculations.

Bamboo orchid hangers

A customer in Florida wrote:
Thank you so much for the nice bamboo poles which I received today, and for the two extra poles especially. They are just perfect for my needs!

As I promised, I will take pictures of completed orchid hangers and email them to you.

I am glad that I found your business through Google.

Customers Share Bamboo Project Photos

Bamboo poles are frequently used to build wedding arches, trellises and tiki huts but that's not all they're good for. Below are a few of the many creations built by our customers. If you have a bamboo creation you'd like to share, email me a few pictures and description of your project and I'll add it to the blog.

Beautiful Bamboo customer Robert Peterson emailed three photos of his recent bamboo projects.  In the below two pictures, he used half-round 2" bamboo poles to trim both an exterior and interior door.  

 

Peterson also used half-rounds together with smaller diameter poles to create a tropical looking wainscoting. 

 










Nadine from Custom Costumes & Entertainment Productions in Rhode Island used our homegrown bamboo poles to create an unusual promotional display:

Thanks again for you help in making this happen.. It was a big hit the car show.. It seems people still love Planet of the Apes.. As much as we do..



Natalia, an orchid-loving customer from Wesley Chaple, FL, used bamboo as a base for her plants:

For mounting orchids I drilled the poles and put 16 gauge galvanized wire. I formed hooks by myself. Then I used thread (cotton) to fix orchid moss and coconut fibers. That was it. As you see, this is a very simple construction.

Dave Schmid, carpentry foreman for the Freeman Company, emailed photos of a booth commissioned by Tata Consultancy Services that included a number of our freshly cut bamboo poles:





Amelia Island customers, Chris and Dick Modie, emailed to say:

We thought you would like to see our handy work!! The live bamboo is doing great too.

Below are photos of the beautiful outdoor shade room Dick and Chris constructed from a combination of bamboo poles, 1/2" diameter bamboo roll fencing and reed fencing.



Two views of the shade room as viewed from the front.





The roof was made out of two different lengths of 1/2" bamboo roll fencing (4' x 6' and 4' x 8') supported by a framework of 2" and 3" diameter poles.



The end view showcases the reed fencing stretched and supported by 2" and 3" diameter bamboo poles.

Another customer, Fred Partin writes:

I thought you would like to see how we used your bamboo (2" half rounds) to go with our new Chinese chairs in living room.



David Marshak constructed a wedding chuppah out of 3" uprights and 2" horizontal poles:



Greg Lorentz built this tiki-style bar for his deck:



Michael Ryan creates beautiful cases out of bamboo to hold his handmade seashell flutes. Learn more at his website Seashell Music



This is an upstairs room in our house where we've covered a knee wall with reed fencing and trimmed it out with 2" half-rounds.

A customer wrote:
Hi Sherry, it was great meeting you and Ralph yesterday. Dianna was so right to get different varieties to plant around the property! The giant timber looks so cool.. I love it. We have a spot for every one of the bamboo we got and planted 3 of them last evening. I dug a huge wide and deep hole to plant the big bamboo and filled it with 2 large wheel barrels of mulch. Here is a pic of it.



I poked out the piece of dry bamboo and made a didgeridoo it sounds good but i think i need to get the tube cleaned out a little better to make it sound louder.

Thanks, Doug and Dianna

My response:
I'm glad it worked out so well. Remember that even after the bamboos are planted, you can always apply top dressings of organic matter (a good use for all of your horse's manure) around the bamboos. You will be seeing lots of new shoots emerge over the next few months so take pictures now when they're relatively small or you won't remember how they looked. Thank you for choosing Beautiful Bamboo and have fun watching your baby 'boos grow!

How fast does bamboo grow?

People are always asking us how quickly bamboo grows. Below are photos sent from customers in the Orlando area whose objective was to create a perimeter privacy barrier in front of existing fences. See for yourself how quickly a landscape can change less than a year after planting bamboo.



Green Hedge clumping bamboo (3-gallon size) planted 4' apart in May 2008.



11 months later...where did that fence go?



Same property - another location. Same type of bamboo, same size container planted the same distance apart.



11 months later - after only one growing season - the white fence is beginning to disappear behind a screen of green bamboo.

A visitor to our website writes:
Hello Sherry, I am working on a project in which the homeowner found your website and loves bamboo. She wants to use it along a chain link fence to block the neighbors unsightly landscape, the width between the chainlink fence and the house is only 6 ft wide, she would still like to use the area as a pathway from the front of the house to the back yard. Which variety do you recommend to use? The length of the fence to cover is 40 ft. How much would you recommend to use for this length as well?

My response:
I would suggest Graceful, a very upright growing clumping bamboo. In a 40' length she would need anywhere from 4 to 10 plants depending on how quickly she wants to form a solid hedge. If she went with 3-gal size plants planted 4' apart in enriched, irrigated soil the fenceline will be completely blocked by the end of the summer. If she went 8' to 10' apart, it would take two to three years worth of growth before a solid hedge formed. Graceful is a delicate looking bamboo with canes a bit over 1" in diameter that will grow about 25' tall at maturity. By the end of summer expect the 3-gal plants, which are now about 6' to 8' tall, to just about double in height.

From our webpage:


After only one growing season, these two Graceful bamboos planted 4' apart are now touching. When first planted, each bamboo only had one cane and were half as tall as they are now.

GRACEFUL BAMBOO Bambusa textilis gracilis
Can grow 20-25 feet with 1¼" diameter canes.

A very handsome plant with few branches on the lower part of mature culms so the beautiful canes are visible without pruning. Graceful Bamboo has a soft, gentle look that is never overpowering. It is an excellent choice for narrow spaces or smaller yards because of its upright growth pattern. Proven to be one of our most popular bamboos, Graceful works well in city as well as country settings.

See for yourself how fast bamboo grows!

The three Seabreeze clumping bamboos above were planted 5' apart in May 2008 from 3-gal size plants. The hedge is now approximately 14' tall. When the bamboos were first planted in May, each plant was about 6' tall and only had one cane. When they were planted, the three Seabreeze looked similar to the two Seabreeze on either side of the sign pictured below (click on image to make it larger and easier to see):



Keep in mind that the bamboos in the top photo have only gone through one growing season. As the weather warms this spring, summer and fall, many new shoots will emerge growing to be taller and larger diameters than the existing canes. By the winter of 2009 our demonstration hedge will have formed an even more solid wall of green than it already is. By the same time, the bamboos in the photo below (which were planted in January 2009) will have gone through one growing season and will look just like the hedge pictured in the top photo.

How much is too much fertilizer and mulch?

A customer in Orlando asks:
I’ve been reluctant to put down a lot of pine bark so as not to interfere with new canes coming up. Am I being too careful? Inasmuch as I planted the bamboo November 1, am I being too careful in waiting til May 1 to apply Dynamite again? I don’t want to over-fertilize.

My response:
About the Dynamite, there's no need to fertilize again until May since the beauty of a time-release formula is that it emits a slow but steady amount of fertilizer over a six month period. As for the mulch, you can place a light mulch around the plants at any time. The new shoots will push through the mulch with no trouble. As the plants mature, you can add a thicker coverage. Mulches help plants retain moisture while reducing competition from weeds and adding some nutrients to the soil.

When will my individual bamboo plants look like a hedge?

A customer writes: Hi Sherry, Back in the fall my husband and I purchased four clumping bamboo plants. We bought two green and two yellow thin stalk kinds that are supposed to grow about 20-30 feet. You said that by the end of the summer we will have our beautiful privacy bamboo fence. I am forwarding you two pictures of the bamboo. The two green ones have grown taller but are very spindly and have not branched out at all. The two yellow ones are full but have hardly grown any taller. None of the plants have had any new canes growing out from their center so there is much space between them. As you will see in the pictures we have a very unattractive view from our side back yard.





My response:
Thanks for the photos. It helps to see what you describe.

The main thing you have to realize is that plants bought in the autumn of 2008 have not yet have gone through their first season of above-ground growth. That's why you haven't seen any new canes yet. All autumn, winter and into the spring they have been establishing their roots in what hopefully was soil enriched with manure, compost, peat or our own Bamboo Booster mixture. From now through summer and into the early fall, the roots will be sending out new shoots. Those shoots will be this year's growth. The canes that emerge over the next few months will grow taller and be a larger diameter than the original canes in your photos. Assuming you irrigate regularly - especially during this very dry period when the bamboos need water to grow - by the end of this summer your bamboos will have many more taller, thicker canes and the area along your fence line will begin to look like the hedge you imagined last autumn.

To encourage more growth this summer now is an excellent time to apply top dressings of any or all of the following: Compost, manure, peat, topsoil. Mulch your plants with leaves, pine needles, wood chips, pine bark or, my favorite mulch - grass clippings. You can also add fertilizer around the plant base - we recommend Dynamite time-release but a regular formula will work too. The important thing is to give your plants food - fertilizer, soil amendments, mulch - so they can eat and grow. If you don't use Dynamite, look for a formula with high nitrogen, the first number, because bamboos are heavy feeders.

Now's also a good time to check your sprinklers to make sure the plants are getting adequate water. And be patient. If you do these things, by the end of summer you're existing bamboos will be surrounded by bunches of new larger, thicker, taller canes.

How do I control running bamboo?

A visitor to our website writes:
A neighbor has planted a running bamboo along our property line. Is there any way to stop it from coming into my yard?

My answer:
You can control your neighbor's running bamboo in several ways: A) mow down young shoots that spread into your yard and weedwack any shoots that come up by trees or in gardens B) install a bamboo barrier along your border that will prevent the spread of rhizome C) once a year use a sharp blade to chop off any invading rhizomes.

Herbicides and poisons won't kill the bamboo but will harm the environment. Best thing would be to talk with your neighbor and see if he/she will help you with the expense of installing a bamboo barrier on your side of the property line.

What should I do about canes that died this winter?

A visitor to our website writes:
Hi Sherry, I live in Lakeland, Florida and have really enjoyed viewing your web site. Your photo pages are very helpful in trying to determine what varieties I’ve been growing.

I have about 10 clumps of what I believe is “Golden Hedge” Bambusa multiplex alphonse karr that I’ve planted from diggings over the last 20 years & it looks great and has been very low maintenance. People who visit my 1 acre property are always amazed when they see it!

We also have a single clump of “Giant” Bambusa vulgaris (I believe) that I purchased about 13 years ago. I really enjoy the tall green canes with their large leaves.

This plant had 2 or 3 small canes on it originally and over the last 4 years it has grown only one cane really fast each summer.

This Giant is usually affected by the freezes that we get each year at the top half.

But this January my family & I were camping at the “Alafia River Rendezvous” during the latest freeze and unfortunately were not home to take any measures to protect the plants.

So now my Giant is brown all the way to the ground.

My question, Sherry is should I cut the Giant canes at the ground or just clip the small branches? It looks bad & I feel like I’ve neglected it.

I’m sort of in a hurry to see some kind of growth activity.

In the past when freezes affected just the top half, it seems like most of the growth on the canes stayed down in the lower half with just minimal signs of life up top.

I’d greatly appreciate any advice you can give and I do plan on visiting your nursery “one of these days”.

My response:
Bambusa Vulgaris, better know as Giant Bamboo, is one of the more tropic-loving bamboos and, therefore, is more susceptible to temperature dips than more cold-hearty specimens. Even in a normal Central Florida winter we would expect some leaf loss and possible cane die-back with this particular bamboo.

This winter was anything but normal. I'm not surprised that even a mature plant like you have got killed back. Our Vulgaris bamboos suffered cane loss too. The good news is, by the end of the summer Giant Bamboo - your and ours as well - will be beautiful again!

All bamboos, including cold-sensitive plants, regenerate from the roots. The cold may kill the canes but it never kills the roots. Any day now you should see some young, thin shoots sprout at the base of the existing dead canes. Initially, the canes will be rather short and leafy but by the time summer comes along larger, taller shoots will have emerged. By the end of the summer your stand of bamboo will look better than ever with large diameter, tall canes bigger than the ones that died.

If it is too much work to cut down all the dead canes, you can leave them. Woodpeckers will drill holes for nests and in the breeze, dead canes will clack against each other and make nice sounds. Don't feel bad about the dead canes. Even if you had been home there would have been nothing you could have done to protect a tall, mature Vulgaris from freezing temperatures.

If you do decide to cut and remove the canes, cut them as close to the ground as you can so your grove will look neat and tidy.

What's the best time of year to plant bamboo?

A visitor to our website asks:
Hi! I've been doing a lot of research on Bamboo and came across your site. First I want to thank you for the information concerning the plants. I think I learned more from your documentation than I have from several other sites combined. That being said. We live on the Eastern Coast of FL and would be interested in what times of year are best to plant the bamboo and in regards to that possibly set the ground work for an appointment to look at the selections you have first hand and ask some questions etc. That's about all I can think of at the moment. Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you as time allows.

My response:
I'm glad you enjoyed our website and look forward to your visit in the near future. Bamboos can be planted all year long but now is an especially good time because the roots have a few months to get established in their new location before summer canes appear. It's the roots that determine the number and size of shoots each year so a well-established root system is important.

The best thing to do is to schedule a visit to our nursery to see our demonstration garden where we have mature specimens of all the bamboos we carry. An in-person visit makes it much easier to decide which bamboo is right for your yard.

When should I trim back cold-damaged leaves and canes?

A customer from San Antonio, FL asks:
I wanted to know if I should trim off the dried leaves on the Angel Mist and Dwarf Budda Belly?. We covered the Budda belly on the cold nights. The bottom 10" is green the rest brown. I gave them a little dynamite fertilizer the other day and plenty of water. Should I just leave everything alone and let nature do its thing or should I trim?. Second question, is now the time to lay down some good compost?. This year I have "Worm Castings" for compost and I'm also growing composting worms, I wanted to go a little more "green" this year. Have you ever tried worm castings? What do you think?

My response:
We're still being cautious and waiting until the end of February to trim but it's probably safe to do some snipping now. As the weather warms, live sections of cane will start to send out new leaves and, of course, as soon as it gets even warmer, new shoots will begin to appear. You can add compost and/or worm castings any time at all. There is no bad time to apply top dressings of organic matter or mulch to bamboo. Good for you for growing worms! That's something I've always wanted to do but never gotten around to setting up. We've had a compost pile for years but no worm bin. Your plants should respond with vigor!

Is Winter a Good Time to Plant Bamboo?

A perspective customer from Orlando, FL writes:
I am considering getting my partner a bamboo plant for Christmas. Is this a good time to plant or should I wait until spring?

My response:
Bamboos can be planted year round. Each season has its own advantage. Bamboos planted in the winter have more time to develop strong root systems in their new location and a well-established root system is one of the most important factors in determining how many new shoots will appear in the summer growth season.

If you wait until spring or summer, you will see new growth almost immediately. That can be very gratifying especially for first-time bamboo growers who are not yet familiar with bamboo growth patterns. But it is also important to note that a bamboo planted in the spring will usually produce smaller and fewer canes during that first growing season than a bamboo planted in the winter, which would have had several months to develop a strong root system.

Why are the leaves on my new plants turning brown?

A customer in Jacksonville, FL recently wrote:
I have a question for you about the giant bamboo and the Asian Lemon you installed a couple weeks ago. I have been watering for 2 hours per day as I was advised. I am seeing that many of the leaves are brown now. Especially on the giant bamboo. Is it possible I am watering too much? They are not curling up so it seems they are getting enough water. I am hoping this is normal part of the shock a plant goes through. We have had some cold nights but only a couple hours below freezing and that might have been 25-27 degrees.

We are happy with the plants overall and look forward to seeing them really grow next year.

My response:
Very often newly planted bamboos shed leaves during their transition period. As you suggested, it's part of the shock of being moved into a new location. It is possible the cold weather might have damaged some of the Oldhamii's leaves. Younger plants of that variety are more susceptible to freezes than the Asian Lemon are but even if that's the case, the plants will recover as the weather warms up. To determine the health of your bamboos, see if new leaves are forming. Even when some leaves brown and fall off after being transplanted or during a cold snap, new leaves are also appearing. Regarding your question about irrigation, as long as the plants are not sitting in standing water, you are not over-watering.

You are right than in a few months when warm weather returns all you bamboos will explode with new growth. It's good to keep an eye on them but it's also important to remember, bamboos are very hardy plants. Even when stressed they will continue to grow.

How Much Should I Water Newly Planted Bamboo?

Customer's Question:
What should be the daily watering schedule after the first 30 days? I've been faithful to the twice-daily watering, and the bamboo is doing well. If I can maintain the twice-daily watering for a second month or even through the dry winter months, would that be good, or would that be too much?

Answer:
I'm glad you've been giving the bamboo 2x daily watering during their first month. It will do them nothing but good to continue that pattern for the next few months while rainfall is minimal. Bamboos like water. The only time it is too much is if they sit in puddles of water for weeks at a time. Your plants will grow without regular watering but they will grow much larger and faster with a regular schedule like you are presently giving them.

How much room does clumping bamboo need?

A customer recently wrote:

We purchased some bamboo from you last year. We have a quick question about
GIANT TIMBER BAMBOO (Bambusa oldhamii). How big can we expect the diameter of the clump to get. Just want to make sure we have it in a large enough area. The Blue, Black and the Asian Lemon bamboos are all doing well! Will send pictures soon!

My response:

Like all clumping bamboos, Giant Timber will always continue to send up new shoots around the outer edges of the existing plant. That means as the years go by, the circle of bamboo will get bigger and bigger. When you think it's large enough, vigilantly chop off or knock over the new shoots when they emerge in the late spring/summer. Once a new shoot is broken like that, it will stop growing.

If you're afraid the spot where you've placed the Giant Timber will fill up too fast, moving it would be a good idea. But, if you can, wait until December or January to do transplant. By then, all of this year's new shoots have completely grown up and leafed out. Moving a bamboo when it still has young canes often prevents the canes from continuing to develop and results in a loss of potential growth for those particular canes. Also, to make it easier to dig up the bamboo, the night before you plan to move it, thoroughly soak the ground around the bamboo. Wet ground is much easier to dig through.

A customer recently wrote:

"My husband and I were at your farm last winter and bought about 12 bamboo plants from you. They are all doing well, but I've notice on two of the clumps there are black areas around the base of the leaves where they grow out of the cane, and there are these large ants running up and down the canes. I don't see any bugs, so I'm not sure why the ants are attracted to the canes. The ants don't appear to be doing any harm, but they are only on the canes with the black areas on them. Do you know what this might be?"

I answered:

The problem you are experiencing on some of the bamboos is probably sooty mold. Sooty mold is a cosmetic problem that does not hurt the plants themselves. The black areas around the base of the leaves is caused by a nectar secreted by aphids. Ants climb up the culms to reach the nectar and take it back to their mounds. To control the sooty mold, you need to eliminate both the ants and aphids - no small problem in Florida. You can defeat the ants - at least for a while - by applying an insecticide like Spectracide granules or Amdro. You can also use an insecticidal soap to kill the aphids. There are various organic formulas available for this purpose as well. Please remember that this is a cosmetic problem. The plant will not suffer from the aphids or the ants climbing up the canes. We caution you to consider the effects pesticides have on the environment before unnecessarily applying them.

LITTLE RED RUNNING 'BOO

People often ask how running bamboo grows. Since roots, by their very nature, are under the ground, they are not easily seen and difficult to imagine. But recently some red bamboo (Semiarundinaria fastuosa) appeared in a section of our property where we had recently cleared away several feet of soil. Since the ground had been disturbed, a nearby section of red bamboo sent runners out into the open space. While some of the roots are anchored in the very dense cayola (white clay) soil, others are exposed providing an unusual opportunity to see exactly how a running bamboo grows.

If you look closely at the photo above you will see how the rhizones have spread in a straight line toward the open space. Every 4 - 6 inches a shoot has begun to reach upward, looking for light. Since the soil is so dense and lacking in nutrients in this location, the shoots are relatively short - less than 4 feet tall while only a few feet away, where the ground has been enriched with soil amendments, the same plants have stretched upwards of 15 feet.

EARLY SPRING

Although it is only the start of February, many of the running bamboos have already begun to send up new shoots. The warm winter seems to have fooled the plants into thinking it's spring.

Normally bamboos don't send up their new shoots until the weather warms up in late spring/early summer but this years seems to be the exception. The running varieties of green and red hedge bamboo have been the first to send up new canes here at Bare Lake Farms and I expect to see other running varieties doing the same over the next few weeks.

To encourage new growth in your own yard, this is an excellent time to add organic matter to areas where you want your bamboo grove to expand. A top layer of compost, manure, peat, grass clippings, leaves or other organic matter spread around existing plants will encourage those plants to send out more new shoots.

POETRY IN MOTION

While the hot, rainy weather this August may have caused all but the most diehard Floridians to seek refuge in air-conditioned rooms, the bamboos loved as much heat and humidity as they could absorb.

Ralph kneels beside two emerging shoots of vivax, a running bamboo. Vivax is a slow runner - that's not an oxymoron - with canes that will eventually grow to a diameter of 5-6 inches

It is during these steamy, hot days that you will see above ground bamboo growth. For most of the year, the roots of these giant grasses are steadily growing underneath the soil without any visible proof that much is happening. Only when the weather warms up - during late spring for running bamboos and early summer for clumping varieties – can you truly see signs of growth.

A close-up of the intricately patterned and curly tip of a new vivax shoot.

It is then that cone-shaped new shoots pop through the ground looking much like asparagus spears in a giant’s garden. In the short period of two to three months, those baby ‘boos will skyrocket to their full height – up to 70’ tall for some varieties.

Sherry stands next to two-week-old vivax shoots.

A few days ago, I had a call from one of our customers. His bamboo had been in the ground for several months and he wanted to know what was happening to his plants. Several tall stalks had appeared but they didn’t seem to be leafing out. Had he done something wrong, he wondered.

The tall stalks he saw were this year’s new growth. Although it takes a short time for new canes to reach their full height, it takes much longer for them to leaf out. Bit by bit over the next few months the leaves will unfurl, culm covers will fall off and the new canes – usually thicker and taller than last year’s growth - will take on the same appearance as their older counterparts.

Now is the time - as the flush of summer heat subsides - to enjoy the beauty of contrasts. One plant – two looks. For a short time, bamboo provides the best of both worlds – the promise of what’s to come together with the pleasure of what is. If that isn’t poetry in motion, what is?

A young clump of Asian Lemon Timber Bamboo (Bambusa eutoldoides viridi-vittata) sends up new shoots that are taller and thicker than last year's growth. Asian Lemon is a large-caned cold-hardy beauty whose bright yellow canes are accented by wide green stripes.