Did You Know?

Did you know that there are over 2,000 different varieties of bamboo plant in the world? One of these varieties may be just the right touch to give your home that exotic or unique look that you are searching for. They can be grown in a container garden inside or as a privacy screen outside, or even just as a natural barrier between two different areas of landscaping. It was thought for many years that because bamboo is a grass that it was a fairly simple plant, but it is actually very highly evolved. While one bamboo plant blooms every year, others may bloom only once in a hundred years. It is said that you can even see bamboo growing-some grows at the astonishing rate of 12 inches a day. For gardeners and non-gardeners alike, growing bamboo can be a fun hobby. Did you know that you can get a bamboo plant that comes in colors other than yellow or gold? The stems can be burgundy, blue, and black-even the leaves come in different shades and color variations as well.

Where To Look And What To Look For

If you can find a nursery in your area that has a variety of bamboo plant for sale this is ideal. It means that it will probably grow in your area. If not, you will need to go online and search for sources of bamboo that will grow in your area. Bamboo can grow in all different climates, not just tropical ones. You should pick a bamboo plant that is well-acclimated to your day and night temperatures and your soil type.

As you are looking for bamboo, you will also need to consider where you are going to be planting the bamboo. The varieties that grow to 50 feet in height will not be good for indoor planting. If you are planting indoors the climate is not as much of an issue for which bamboo plant you choose. The varieties that spread across a large area, but only grow a few inches in height will not be suitable for a barrier or privacy screen.

Tips On Caring For Your Bamboo

Bamboo is fairly simple to grow because it is a hardy plant-but you need to know a few basic rules. All varieties of bamboo need a lot of sunshine so positioning is the key. In the beginning the young plants need a lot of water. But, if you water your bamboo plant too much it will begin to yellow and it could die. Those plants that seem to be thriving without any special care probably just have the ideal situation for their survival.

Use the same type of fertilizer for your bamboo plant that you would use for your grass (but not the weed and feed variety.) You can also use natural fertilizers like manure or other animal byproduct fertilizers with success.

Some bamboo is so thin and grows so quickly that it may not be able to support itself very well. In this case you may want to stake your bamboo plant. Tie it very loosely to the stake so that with its rapid growth it will not harm the plant. When the plant is sturdy enough and tall enough, you can remove the stake.

When you are growing your bamboo in a container, you will need to make sure that the container is big enough to contain the roots and plants for the very rapid growth of some varieties-otherwise you will need to change the container rapidly.

Trim off the yellow and dried leaves on your bamboo as they occur. Not only does this make the plant more attractive, it is also healthier for the plant.

By Margarette Tustle. Learn more about bamboo and bamboo resource from msbamboo.com.

Purchasing Your Bamboo

It is important to purchase a young seedling or bamboo plant that is say 12 months old EVERY TIME. When purchasing a bamboo for your garden it is important not to become carried away with buying the biggest and best bamboo that you can find. This can be difficult however especially as the bamboo plant is ideal for screening and fencing large areas within your garden. It is necessary then to detach yourself from emmotion then to pay attention to the bamboo plant and how it has been cultivated.

BUYING A YOUNG BAMBOO - Bamboo plants need time to allow for growth and maturity, this is because of their complex rhizome and root structures, if the plant is rushed or potted on too early and not allowed to grow at its own pace then it may be of poor quality, it may well be prone to disease and ultimately die.

LARGE IS NOT ALWAYS BEST - It is easy to become carried away with how large your bamboo plant is but the most important part of the bamboo is not the amount of leaf foliage above the pot or the number of culms (remember quality not quantity), it is what is within the pot, that is the Bamboo’s rhizomes and roots.

GREEN LEAVES ARE GOOD - A healthy bamboo will have healthy moist leaves and fresh culms which show new growth at its nodes. The culms should be undamaged and free from disease. Bamboo with pale or yellow leaves or a high percentage of old, woody culms should be avoided as this plant will probably have been split from an older bamboo through division.

LOOK AT THE RHIZOMES and the ROOTS - The pot must be in similar poportion to the amount of leaf foliage above the pot. Take a look at the roots within the pots as these should show a healthy white root and rhizome structure. If there are a large amount of white new roots, then there will be a good strong bamboo that will emerge, at this stage you will also be able to identify whether the bamboo plant has been container grown or containerized.

Take a look around the top of the bamboo container as there should also be visible signs of fresh new growth at the edge or around the top of the bamboo pot, which again indicates a good strong plant

CONTAINER or CONTAINERISED? There are various methods of growing bamboo for your garden, this can be from bamboo seed (which is hard to come by given the long flowering periods of bamboo), vegetative, division , tissue culture, however which ever method is used each has their own advantages and disadvantages.

Bamboos grown and potted on in containers is a bamboo plant that has been allowed to grow at its own pace and mature throughout its life, it is a bamboo that will have been potted on when it was ready for the next stage in its growing cycle. This will provide a healthy balanced bamboo plant, that when positioned in the garden will be healthy and able to adapt to the change in conditions easier than a containerised bamboo.

Let us then take a look at a containerised bamboo plant, this is one which has been split from a large stock plant through the splitting of the root and rhizome structure. If great care is not taken the rhizome and root system can be severed when the division took place, so whilst the bamboo may have fantastic foliage and be of a good size, checks must be taken as previously discussed.

Look at the culms/ canes - is there a mixture of young and old, with visible signs of new leaf growth? Leaves - these should be healthy, moist and green in colour Roots and Rhizomes - do these look white and healthy and have new growth, are they intact Pests and Diseases- look for visible signs of damage and establish if chemicals have been used when treating these (chemicals can damage the immune system) Gain as much information from the supplier as possible.

Again DON’T BE FOOLED with what is above the pot, Look To The ROOTS!