| Timmy and Ralph relocate a two-year-old Yin-Yang bamboo |
My office window faces a clay wall that we carved out of a hillside years ago in order to build our house. The wall is not particularly attractive and to hide it we have planted bamboos. A couple days ago we transplanted a two-year-old clump of Bambusa emeiensis viridiflavus or Yin-Yang to a spot directly across from my office window.
Now I can look out at Yin-Yang, which is currently my favorite bamboo. It's a large-caned bamboo with an unusual striping pattern. Although the culms (canes) are green, alternating sides of each culm are striped with a series of vertical yellow lines. The culm sections are also banded by a fairly broad horizontal white line that is particularly attractive and distinctive.
| Yellow stripes and a broad white band add to Yin-Yang's allure |
Yin-Yang also has pretty leaves that grow differently than many other clumpers. It has a very Asian feel to it that makes me think of a zen garden or meditative space. Simply looking at this special bamboo is soothing. That's especially helpful when I'm stressing out over particularly full workload or impending deadlines.
I want some Bamboo. I saw some potted Bamboo at Whole Foods but I didn't know if it was just to be a house plant. I know some of the local Mingsota potters grow it but I don't know what kind.
ReplyDeleteStephen - any of the running bamboos will grow in Minnesota. If you don't want them to be planted in the ground where they will spread, you can plant them in large containers. Check out the pictures and descriptions on the Running Bamboo page of our website: www.beautifulbamboo.com
ReplyDeletestephen - another reader of our blog reminded me that not all running bamboos will do well in your climate. since we are located in central florida, we don't have personal experience growing running bamboos in your climate, relying instead on information received by customers and through the american bamboo society. to be sure a bamboo variety is right for your climate, it would be helpful to visit the abs webpage - www.bamboo.org - and check out their source list.
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