Quote:
Originally Posted by navy2kcoupe
Rich, what's the life expectancy of the bamboo? Does it last awhile, like
multiple years? Does it "die" every fall like the grass I'm used to up north, then
come back to life in the spring? Any commercial use for it, like could you
harvest it and sell it or grind it up and use it for feed?
Just wondering 
Andy  |
Actually bamboo lives a very long time. When you see a grove of bamboo, what you are normally seeing is just one plant. Each culm (shoot) is just like a branch of the plant, with rhyzomes that run underground. But bamboos will die normally when they produce seed, which is a very long cycle. I have never seen any of our bamboo set seed.
As for cold hardiness, some of the varieties can survive sub-zero temps, as the runner types (genus
Phyllostachys) are really a temperate climate evergreen plant. Some can survive quite well up through Ag zone 6, reaching into mid America.
http://www.bamboogarden.com/cold%20hardy%20bamboo.html
Heck bamboo is used commercially in the orient extensively. And some of this seems to be catching on in the USA. I'm sure you have seen bamboo flooring, furniture, and even bedsheets are processed from bamboo fibers.
I don't believe you could use it for feed, as only the new shoots would be likely able to be used in that fashion.