Description
Characteristic Features of Bamboo
Bamboo is an established name of the vast number of species of evergreen perennial grasses. According to the botanical classification, they belong to the grass family Gramineae, or Poaceae. APG II (see Dracaena for more information) recognizes seven subfamilies in this family, including the bamboo subfamily Bambusoideae. It contains approximately 1,200 species that are, in turn, grouped into two tribes, Olyreae, 21 genera and Bambuseae, 77 genera, 9 subtribes.
The plants belonging to the first tribe are non-lignified throughout their life, remaining ordinary grass and rarely growing over one meter.
The second tribe includes woody species. Their stems are usually tall and may branch; they are topped with a graceful, delicate crown of narrow pointed leaves. Bamboo species flower infrequently. Huge flowers are either gathered in spikelets or, in some species, are small and inconspicuously hidden in the sinus. When the plants come into flower, most of the plants energies are directed into producing flowers and seeds and consequently the plant dies, either completely or only in its surface portion (while rhizomes survive).
Bamboos are common in the tropical and subtropical areas across all continents, evidently except for Antarctica; they can also occur in cool mountain areas. For example, in the Eastern Cordillera (South America), impassable groves of Chusquea aristata rise up to the snow line.
Some other records of Bamboo:
- The culm of Dendrocalamus brandisii grows to 38-40 meters tall and 25-35 centimeters across.
- Relatively short plants in the genus Sasa growing up to 3 meters bloom once in 20 years and are extremely winter-hardy. They are even found on the Kuril Islands.
- Bambusa arundinacea grows to 18 meters tall or more and blooms once in 25 years but very abundantly.
- Bambusa gigantea and Melocanna bacciferi bloom once every 30 years.
- Bambusa tulda in Indochina grows 22 to meters per month. There is unique evidence that Phyllostachys bambusoides in Japan grew up to 120 centimeters for 24 hours.
People have used these plants for a wide variety of applications. Bamboo is used as:
- A tool for a long agonizing death
- Weapons (staffs for halberds and battle axes, blowguns, stakes, spears, bows, lances, arrows, etc.)
- Food (young shoots of the genera Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Phyllostachys are as tasty as regular garden vegetables while fruits of the genus Melocanna look like delicious fleshy pears
- Construction materials (water pipes, houses, stairs, boats, bridges, rafts, etc.)
- Raw material for production of paper (Chinese technology), buckets, bicycle frames (in the US in late 19th century), hats, kitchen utensils, ski poles, furniture, musical instruments (wind, percussion, plucked instruments), chopsticks, woven products (curtains, baskets, even outerwear), umbrella handles, walking sticks, summer fishing rods, jars for storage and transportation of liquids and granular materials.
Chinese gardeners long ago appreciated the ornamental qualities of Bamboo and used them to create a windbreak, a gazebo, a meditation grove, a yard or garden decoration, etc. Europeans, too, began to show attention and true respect for these exotic plants -- the more so that, as it turned out, the following species take root and survive in Central
Europe without any problems:
- Sasa nitida with purple stems growing up to 3 meters tall
- Arundinaria auricoma (Arundinaria viridistriata or Pleioblastus auricomus), a low plant with yellow longitudinal stripes on the leaves
- Phyllostachys aurea will grow up to 3 meters in the tub. Its stalk is light green in the first year and turns straw yellow later.
- Arundinaria pygmaea (Pleioblastus pygmaeus) is a very cold-resistant plant , obviously due to its knee-high size
- Pleioblastus kumasasa (Shibataea kumasasa) is a compact shrub with zigzag stalks flattened on one side
- Vambusa multiplex reaches 2-4 meters tall (just the right size for a tub!) and also has a variegated form
- Bamboo Muriel has a yellow trunk and is approximately the same size as Sasa nitida
- Arundinaria pumila (Pleioblastus pumilus or Sasa pumila)
- Arundinaria fortunei (Pleioblastus variegatus) features white or cream-coloured stripes on the leaves and can form a dense clump of 0.7 to 1 meter tall
- Arundinaria humilis (Pleioblastus humilis)
- Bambusa glaucescens height does not exceed 0.4 meters, which makes it a perfect potted plant
- Phyllostachys nigra native to China thrives in the south of Russia, as well as all phyllostachyses. After two years, the stems darken while lush green foliage does not change its colour
- Variegated low-size Bambusa fortunei native to Japan
- Another lovely Japanese, Bambusa metake.
REMEMBER! Dracaena sanderiana or Dracaena fragrans are entirely unrelated to Bamboo although their rooted shoots are often marketed as Happy Bamboo, Lucky Bamboo, Chinese Bamboo or Tree of Happiness. Be careful!
The Secrets to Successfully Growing Bamboo
Bamboo prefers a bright spot protected from hot or cold winds, with constantly damp soil that never dries off. It is good if snow accumulates there in the winter. For tall species, select an area near the pond.
If you are going to grow Bamboo indoors, ensure bright sunlight and generous watering to be reduced only in the winter.
The plant is always thirsty (it signals about it by rolling its leaves), which allows cultivating it not only in the soil but also in the water. In the latter case, change the water twice a month from April to August. Dissolve special compound mineral fertilizers (for example, Ideal, Ispolin, or Raduga) in the water. When the plant is cultivated in the soil, these fertilizers are not required.
The plant does not need high air humidity, however, it will respond well to misting with warm water.
The best temperatures are 18-25 ° C in the summer and 10-13 ° C in the winter.
Feed Bamboo nitrogen-rich fertilizer every 2 to 3 weeks. Mulch the soil with fallen leaves.
Repot potted and young plants every year and mature plants in tubs once in 2 or 3 years.
Bamboo is easily propagated by dividing the clump during repotting time or by rhizomatous cuttings (or stem сuttings in some species). Propagation by seed is superslow. The best time for planting is spring (March-April). The soil mixture should be heavy and nutritious. Optimal composition is clay loam, leaf mold, humus, peat, and sand at 2:1:1:1:1.
Flowering is still poorly studied because of its rarity) but it is noted that regular pruning can prevent or significantly delay flowering and the eventual death of the plant.
Potential Problems
As Bamboo is characterised by intensivel underground growth, choose a large pot. If you grow Bamboo outdoors, surround the planting with a belt of old linoleum angled vertically or with any similar barrier to control rapid spread of the roots throughout the site.
For indoor plants, temperatures in the resting period from October to February should not drop below 5 ° C.
In the wild, do not risk leaving your plant without winter sheltering. It can freeze from the top to the snow level. Bend the stems down to the ground and cover them (in case of hard winters without snow) with spruce branches, lutracil or spunbond fabrics.
Yellowed leaves indicate wrong watering practices.
Bamboo is sometimes attacked by herbivorous thrips (physopods), flightless but nasty insects. Immediately and abundantly treat the plant with insecticides (Actellic, Decametrin, or Phitoverm).
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Bamboo symbolizes friendship in India, long life in China, happiness in the Philippines (Peasants believe that happiness is attracted by the bamboo cross and establish them in their fields), and purity in Japan.
Bamboo groves emit 35% more oxygen than the same area of any other trees.
Take advantage of breathing easily, living happily, and enjoying friendship and purity!
