Bamboo Pole Sizes and Weights

Most bamboo poles will taper naturally from bottom to top - sometimes considerably - and there will be variations, even between poles of the same named size.

The walls of bamboo poles are approximately 1/4 inch thick, so the interior diameters are about 1/2 inch less than their outside diameters.

The charts below indicate the variations in approximate actual outside diameter measurements in inches of the various types of bamboo poles that available at Beautiful Bamboo.

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	Domestic Designer
	BASE	TOP
Named Size
1.5	1.5 - 1.75	1.25 - 1.5
2	2 - 2.25	1.25 - 1.75
2.5	2.25 - 2.625	1.75 - 2.5
3	2.625 - 3	2 - 2.75
3.5	3.25 - 3.5	2.625 - 3
4	3.5 - 4	3 - 3.25
5	4.75 - 5	3.75 - 4.25
6	5.5 - 6	4 - 4.5

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	Imported
	BASE	TOP
Named Size
1.5	1.25 - 1.5	1 - 1.25
2	1.625 - 2	1.25 - 1.75
3	2.5 - 3	1.5 - 2.5
4	3.5 - 4	2.5 - 3
5	4.5 - 5	3.5 - 4
6	5 - 6	3.5 - 4.5

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	Home grown
	BASE	TOP
Named Size
1.25	1 - 1.25	.75 - 1
1.5	1.25 - 1.75	1 - 1.5
2	1.75 - 2.25	1.25 - 2
3	2.5 - 3	1.5 - 2.5

-->Domestic Black Poles are only available in 1.75" diameter with a base diameter of approximately 1.5" - 2" and a top diameter of approximately 1.25" - 1.75"

For shipping purposes, we are including the below chart estimating the approximate weight in pounds of 8' and 10' long bamboo poles of various named sizes.

	approx. weight (lbs.)
	8'	10'
Named Size
1		1.5 -2
1.25	2.5 - 3
1.5		4
1.75	2.5 - 3	3 - 3.5
2	3.5	4
2.5	5
3	6	8
3.5	9	11
4	13 - 15	15 - 16
5	25	25 - 30
6	25 - 30	25 - 30

Shipping live plants

This morning Timmy packed up 6 Golden Goddess bamboos to send to a customer in SC.  

The plants are all in 3-gal size containers.  Before shipping, we enclose the bamboo, which was recently watered, in a plastic bag to maintain moisture during the travel time. 

Two 3-gal size plants will fit in each 48" x 12" x 12" box. 

The plants are wedged into place with lengths of bamboo poles to prevent them from moving around during shipping.

Lots of crumpled up newspaper - a good way to recycle! - prevents shifting as well.

Included in the box are planting instructions. 

Once they are sealed, the boxes are labeled and fragile stickers are added.  Then it is off to the FedEx store to send them on their way.

Some bamboo questions

A visitor to Beautiful Bamboo's Facebook page asked:

I have some bamboo questions. I live in New Jersey. I would like to purchase some bamboo plants to hide my fence. I would like it to be tall about 8 to 10ft. I need to know the best place to purchase and the going prices. They seem expensive $25 a plant. If I purchase the small plants how long will it take for them to grow to my 8 to 10ft height?

My response - Our nursery ships bamboo across the country but in NJ you are limited to running bamboos since all clumping varieties except Fargesia (a clumping bamboo that we can't grow in Florida because it requires a mountainous climate) are tropical plants and cannot tolerate temperatures below 15 degrees.

However, any of the running varieties will work fine in your area.  But keep in mind that runners are invasive and you have to be able to control their growth by either mowing a 20' to 30' swath around them or putting into place a bamboo barrier.  To learn more, read Clumpers or Runners - Which is best for you?

Concerning the cost, keep in mind that you don't need many plants to form a hedge.  It's far less expensive and better for the environment to create a living hedge than to build a wall or install a fence.  Bamboo will also grow taller and thicker than any fence or wall. 

About height, all bamboos grow very quickly from bottom to top.  As long as you give your plants rich soil, water and fertilizer, they will grow from nothing to their full height within a couple months.  You can expect an 8'-10' hedge within one season even from small 1-gal to 3-gal container plants.

To learn more, please take some time to read the information on our website and blog.  Bamboo is different from other plants in so many ways.  It helps to educate yourself as much as possible before planting.