Some bamboo pics

[Rich Z]

Connie and I took a walk the other day and I had my Panasonic Lumix with me. Took some pics of a couple of the bamboo groves.

[Rich Z]

Looks like some birds have created nesting cavities in some of the bamboo, and I'm sure lizards and tree frogs will hole up in the old split bamboo.

[mrr23]

well at least they were cozy during the cold

[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

[Rich Z]

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.

[CHASZ51]

I hear it is hard to get rid of it once it's growing thick. Guess it is not good for a small yard.

[Cor66Vette]

Originally Posted by CHASZ51

I hear it is hard to get rid of it once it's growing thick. Guess it is not good for a small yard.

Ha ha, tell me about it!

I was given a small bunch of bamboo and planted it in my garden when I lived on Long Island. In a little more than a year, it spread to such a degree where I couldn't control it no matter what. I planted it on one side of the house and it came up on the other side. I tried to barricade the roots from spreading, but it was too late, and I couldn't dig deep enough to put in a partition. I even dug it completely out, but it just came back stronger. Had I known this I would have planted it in a 55 gallon drum and buried the drum. I always wondered what the new owners did about it?

[Rich Z]

Yeah, it can be a problem, because it sure does like to spread. Fortunately we have enough acreage where hopefully it won't get to be a problem. However, I did plant some yellow vivax fairly close to the house a number of years ago, and so far don't regret the idea.

I have had success with cutting rhizomes and then staying on top of it trying to put new culms up. Unless it can produce leaves for photosynthesis, it WILL die.

Cutting culms and spraying the stumps with a defoliant does seem to knock it back in areas you don't want it, too.

But yeah, bamboo is pretty darn hardy. But on the plus side, it is often used in the orient to purposely grow under houses, as a safeguard against the ground opening up under dwellings from earthquakes, sink holes, etc. The rhizomes can be almost as effective as steel cables for support. So if you live in an area prone to sink holes, this could maybe be a consideration.

[CHASZ51]

I just bought a Royal empress tree. Came as a stick in a box with roots. Really starting to take off.

[Rich Z]

Yeah, we have purchased some bare root fruit trees. Some did well, and others did not. Actually have had better luck with a local nursery. Costs more, but they are well started and produced fruit a LOT earlier.