ANOTHER ... COLOR OF MY BAMBOO

Here is a bamboo I have not featured previously:  BLACK BAMBOO.  Yes ... bamboo with a common name, not some fancy Latin name only.

I have this bamboo growing along the front of my house. Planted several years ago, it has now developed into an effective "vision barrier". Certainly more colorful & lasting than some form of manufactured fencing.

BLACK BAMBOO is another species which changes color in it's first year of growth.  This photo shows the green clums which have sprouted up this Spring.  Looking closely, you will see the previous years growth which has developed the rich black color this bamboo is named for.  The change in color of the new growth occurs at the end of the first Summer, when the entire grove of bamboo will be black. Then next Spring, the new green growth -- & mixture of colors -- will begin again.

And -- just for the record, along with those who "need to know" -- the proper name for this plant is PHYLLOSTACHY NIGRA 'BLACK'.  Most plant nurseries which sell it list it as growing to a height of about 35 feet.  My plants are just about that tall.

SOME SMALLER BAMBOO

While many times on this blog I have featured the various larger sizes of bamboo I grow here in Central Arkansas, I have several other species of bamboo which in no way are as majestic as my "giants", but still offer me the grace, color & enjoyment all bamboo provides me.

The photo below -- which includes my sweet "Momma Kitty", PRECIOUS -- is a bamboo species called SASA PALMATA.  As you can tell, this is NOT a very large growing bamboo, only averaging about five to six feet in height.  It makes a nice "boarder" planting & -- like all bamboo I grow -- is evergreen through out the year; something to appreciate in the dead of Winter.

I acquired this plant in 2006 from LEWIS BAMBOO via mail order back in March, 2006.  I purchased TWO plants at the time & the area we are standing in front of represents the growth since then of just ONE plant.  Like most "running bamboo", the SASA PALMATA is an "aggressive grower" each year & must be "controlled" if it is to remain ... "tamed".  Thankfully this can be done with a lawnmower; cutting down the new growth as it appears in the Spring.  Older growth can be removed/thinned with a "weed eater".

Bamboo -- of all sizes -- plays a major role in the landscaping of my property & I enjoy all of it, from the 50-60 foot "giants", to the smaller sizes, as I have featured today.

BIGGER ... BIG BAMBOO

The warmer than normal, earlier than normal weather this year has affected ALL the bamboo growth on my property/ "bamboo farm".  The early Spring has advanced the annual bamboo growing season by several weeks. Since Spring is the time of year when over 90% of NEW bamboo growth occurs, I am seeing some impressive bamboo growth much sooner than ... ah ... "normal".

The above photo shows some of the new growth occurring in one of my groves of Phyllostachys Vivax. [Remember, most bamboo's do NOT have a "common name".]  This species grows about 50 feet high in my garden & the large, rapid & colorful new growth is highly anticipated each Spring. That growth just came a bit earlier for me this year.