COLOR IN BAMBOO

I've recently tried to recall when & how it was I developed an interest in growing bamboo.  I really believe it was many years ago on a trip to Colombia, South America.  It was there that I was exposed to some real GIANTS of the bamboo world & the impression of the beauty & strength of this plant has stayed with me ever since.

Bamboo comes in all shapes & colors.  In my "garden" I have bamboo which grows only a few inches larger than a foot in height, with other bamboo species more than 50 foot tall.  As well as green, I have bamboo in the colors of gray, yellow, white & even black.  With bamboo, there really is ... "something for everyone".

Some of my favorite bamboo is in the genus Phyllostachys. [Sorry ... I have never found a "common name" mentioned.]  Two examples from my bamboo collection are shown in the photo included & both offer a good idea of some of the "colors" found in the larger bamboos.

The green bamboo on the right is Phyllostachys Vivax. The clums (cains) have a brilliant green color, with a small white stripe at each segment.  The yellow plant is Phyllostochys Viridis 'Robert Young' ... named after some bamboo scientist,
NOT the movie star, who was later in the TV show Father Knows Best.  The latter bamboo emerges for the ground each spring as a light, lime green color & as the clum grows, turns yellow, with some segments having a bright green stripe.

As you can see, I have "color" all year long on my four acres of land thanks to my bamboo.

IT'S JUST BAMBOO

This photo, which shows the growth of the first bamboo to come up here on my property this year & which I discussed in my last post, is starting to "slant" as it gets taller.  Normally bamboo grows (mostly) straight up when it emerges from the ground. I have had bamboo where one or more stalks in a flush of bamboo will be ... "off kilter".  I have not seem so many clums all behave this way previously.

Since we have had such an early start to our warm Spring weather this year -- it's still officially Winter on the calender -- it is causing this bamboo to start it's growth cycle early. My theory is that the position of the sun in the sky may have some effect on the posture of the bamboo; as if the clums (stalks) are "reaching" toward a sun, which would normally be higher on the horizon, when the new shoots sprout in the TRUE Spring !!  For now, that's my semi-professional bamboo grower explanation for the "leaning bamboo".

Of course, if at some point I decide I don't care for the look of the curving bamboo -- assuming it will not straighten up, ah, "normally" -- well then, I can always just cut it down & wait for the next seasons growth.  After all ... it's just bamboo.

THE NEW BAMBOO

As it does every Spring -- or even this year, when it is still officially Winter -- the MOSO Bamboo is the first species of bamboo in my collection to send up new growth to start the bamboo growing season. The warmer than normal temperatures & frequent rain we have experienced this year in Central Arkansas have been ideal for this bamboo to begin sending up new cains ... officially called "clums".

This photo shows an area where I previously cut & removed the "old" clums of bamboo.  Since so much of any bamboo growth is directed underground, the previous "cleaning" of this bamboo grove does not effect the new growth.

While I planted this bamboo at this spot several years ago, the bamboo really has not increased dramatically in size. I have added the work glove to give some idea of the plants actual size as it comes from the ground at this location.  I will provide some up-dated photos in the near future as this batch of bamboo continues to grow this Spring.

BAMBOO TIME -- AGAIN -- IN ARKANSAS

Spring time is when the majority of bamboo species begin their yearly growth.  Unlike trees & bushes in the garden, bamboo grows to it's full height & diameter in it's first growing season. Growth in coming years will only be to replace leaves. The stalks of bamboo will not get bigger or taller.

With the non-Winter we have had in Arkansas -- & in just about all the other parts of the U.S. -- the growing season for everything on my property has started earlier than in other years. [Question:  Will this Winter, with it's lack of cold weather & snow, be the "new normal" ??  Check back next year.]

Because in most years the first bamboo growth can begin (usually) in mid-March on my property, I have started making daily visits to the South end of my land.  This is where the species of bamboo -- common name MOSO ...  which is the first bamboo to sprout new growth in my yard in the Spring -- is planted.  With the warmer weather conditions, the first small "heads" of this bamboo are already poking through the earth. Certainly, earlier than "normal" at this time of the year.

All of the bamboo I grow -- 12 species -- is "cold hardy".  The green, gray, yellow & black colors of the bamboo really help to add "color" to my Winter time landscape.

However, one planting of bamboo does have me mystified to some degree. It has always appeared to be more sensitive to freezing temperatures & does not ... ah, "normally" ... due well in our Arkansas Winters.  But, since we have not had a Winter per say, it's growth this year does not seem to be affected.

 I don't have a specific name for this bamboo & I do not know exactly what species it is.  It is a "clumping bamboo", meaning it does not send out "runners" any further than the base of the plant.  Also, it's growth is always in late Summer/early Fall, making me believe it is a bamboo from the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed from those in Arkansas.

I acquired this bamboo at a roadside plant nursery in Florida, many years ago. There was not a complete identification for the plant, just a tag listing it as "Bamboo".  Well ... DUH.   Still, I liked the color -- it's yellow, with green stripes -- so I bought the plant & divided it into two groupings when I returned home & put it in the ground.

Most years, I would have many brown leaves & dead stalks with this bamboo at the beginning of March, all due to the cold weather of our Winter.  The bamboo would then spend much of the Spring & Summer "recovering", aided by all the cutting & trimming I would have to do to remove the dead growth.

This year both plantings of this bamboo show no dead stalks or leaves. No doubt our lack of freezing temperatures this Winter have been more to the liking of this bamboo. It will be interesting to see how the weather conditions of this past season manifest themselves in the future growth of this plant when the true "warmer weather" arrives.