Hardy Bamboo Update

A few days ago I was presented with this.

bamboo in wheelbarrow

It’s a new shoot of Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens, and was brought to me by a mate. He dug it up from Vic’s place, and I’ve posted pictures of the bamboo at his place before bamboo pictures.

My friend Roy dug some of the shoots up, as Vic was going to mow them down. With the dry weather, most of the feeding/watering roots were deep down, so these shoots are likely to struggle to establish, but they were due for destruction anyway, so it was worth the risk.

Cutting Bamboo

Hi All

I have spent the day cutting bamboo. Not mine. None of my bamboo will be ready to harvest for a few years yet. This bamboo belongs to Vic, the guy who first let me take some sections of his bamboo, and started this fascination (obsession) with bamboo. Another friend, Roy, who you will see in a couple of the pictures, has been helping Vic to thin out some of his bamboo, and today I lent a hand.

For anybody who doesn’t know, bamboo starts out juvenile (thin and spindly), and when established, starts to send up progressively taller, and thicker culms, until it reaches full size. The culms (stems) grow to their maximum height over the course of a few weeks, and will not get thicker with age. When mature, stems of full girth, grow rapidly to full height, amazing everybody who sees it for the first time. The picture below shows a 20 ft (6 meter) tall stem of a Phyllostachys bissetti, cut earlier today.

More Hardy Bamboo

Hi all

At the end of last week I took another trip down to the nursery of Paul Whittaker, author of the book, HARDY BAMBOO, Taming the Dragon. I had reserved four new species to grow here, last year, but hadn’t been able to make the trip earlier.

The original list was Phyllostachys nuda, Phyllstachys propinqua, Phyllostachys rubromarginata, and Chusquea culeou. I added Fargesia rufa, and a Phyllostachys vivax cultivar.

The three original Phyllostachys varieties were selected primarily for their edible shoots, but all have good culm wood, and can be used for building small structures. I had ordered the Chusquea primarily for it’s attractiveness, but I then checked, and found out that it has good edible shoots too, which makes it a better permaculture plant.

The P.vivax cultivar that I added was just a pretty colour. All of the P. vivax cultivars are strong growers, with tasty shoots, and large culms. I already have two varieties.

The Fargesia was bought to use as poultry shelter. It will grow to about 12ft maximum, clump tightly, but leans outwards slightly, giving shade in Summer, and shelter in Winter.

For those of you who like facts, I’ve collated some information for you. Please note that these figures are based on performance in the UK, and growth will be greater with more warmth. Paul’s website is called Hardy Bamboo.

Bamboo starting to Grow

The bamboo that I collected last Autumn has been showing signs of activity. Here are a few pictures.

Growing Hardy Bamboo at the Sustainable Smallholding

I have stumbled into bamboo growing, almost by accident, but in 2010, I will probably be growing up to ten varieties of bamboo, for food, mulch, fuel, construction material, and for the sheer beauty of the plant. If only it had a value for my bees, it would be perfect. In this article I have listed the varieties that I want to try growing, and included details about their edibility, and use as timber.