The word bamboo gives rise to visions of dense forests on tropical islands, rickety huts on the beach (ala Gilligan's Island), and Panda Bears. The reality of this magnificent plant is that there are over 1200 kinds of "bamboo", many of which are extremely useful to mankind. In fact, they may become even more useful in the future. Far from growing only in the tropics, many types of bamboo grow well in temperate regions. (Although no bamboo that I am aware of is a snow lover!) Bamboo also shows a great variation in size. Some bamboo species may reach 100' tall with 12" diameter culms (stalks). Others may never see three feet, and may only barely reach 1/4" diameter.

There are two major categories of bamboo: running and clumping. The horror stories that you may have heard about bamboo running rampant are about running bamboos. These bamboos send out rizimes, often for tens of feet, which put up new stems, or culms. Running bamboos can spread fairly rapidly, and require caution. My personal recommendation is to not plant running bamboos in the ground (may be ok in pots). The other kind of bamboo is clumping bamboo, which may put out rizomes for 6-12" from the clump (if that!). So, although a clump may spread slightly, it tends not to spread rapidly. How can you tell the difference? (1) look at a mature stand. Is it a clump, or does it run over the entire valley? (2) Temperate bamboos tend to be running bamboos; tropical bamboos tend to be clumping bamboos. (3) Look at the culm just above where a leaf branch comes out. If the culm is indented, it is likely a running bamboo. (4) Especially in a nursery, or within a bamboo club, ask. Professionals or even interested amateurs will be more than willing to help you find a suitable bamboo.

Bamboo plants bloom at different intervals. Some bloom relatively frequently, for short periods. Others bloom at long intervals (70-140 years) and may die after blooming and putting out seeds. Some species are not known to ever have bloomed. In some species, all members of that species may bloom at the same time...then die.

Bamboo is useful in a wide variety of ways. In many tropical countries, it makes a substantial contribution to the standard of living of the inhabitants. Bamboo may supply shelter, food, furniture, transportation (rafts), bowls and other storage containers, drums, water pipes, weapons, armor, and even is the subject of many legends.

Bamboo is used for "poor man's timber" in many parts of the world. It may be used in scaffolding reaching many hundreds of feet into the air. It is especially suited to bulding one story buildings. Some species of bamboo are extremely strong in compression along the length of the culm. (Others are not strong especially...) It is especially notable that, say, a 1200 square foot plot is said to be able to supply the material for a 1200 square foot home, about once every three years. This makes bamboo far, far more efficient than timber trees. Thus, bamboo may be the ultimate renewable timber resource. Bamboo is also used in other structural uses, as in plywood, particle board, and even flooring. Some individuals have looked at processes for forming bamboo into rectangular board-like slabs, to use in place of two-by-fours and two-by-twelves. Some bamboo does not have solid internodes, and can be used as water pipe by merely cutting to the desired length.

The shoots of many varieties of bamboo are especially prized as food. Most shoots must be soaked (changing the water every 12 hours) for several days before eating. A few varieties have sweet shoots that may even be eaten raw! Bamboo shoots are highly nutritious.

Let's see, a living room set (sofa, love seat, hassock, two or three tables), up to $2,000 or more. Bamboo furniture can be extremely nicely done. Bamboo is also useful in a wide variety of crafts, from musical instruments to bird cages.

When I was growing up, the only fishing poles that we had were bamboo (boy, I must be old!). While fiberglass has displaced bamboo for most ocean fishing, bamboo is still the rod of choice for many fly fishermen. And there is little to keep you from making up your own ocean rods...(and saving quite a few dollars in the process.)

There are at least six basic propigation techniques for bamboo (in addition to letting a running bamboo just run...): growing from seeds, spliting a clump, planting culm sections, planting rizome sections, air layering, and tissue culture.

Growing bamboo from seed presents three major challenges. First, if sevral bamboos are in flour at the same time, you may wind up with a less desirable hybred rather than the one that you wanted. Second, many varieties have a relatively low seed viability...not all (or even most) of the seed may sprout. Apparently, this is particularly true of older seed. Third, many species do not flower for long intervals...it would be a bummer to have to wait another 120 years for the species that you want! Indeed, there are some species that are not recorded as having ever flowered.

Often a clump of bamboo is split into two or three smaller clumps. While this method has merit (if done properly, it keeps the soil on the root hairs), it only yields 2-3 clumps in a year or so. By geometric progression, you will only get 8-9 clumps in 2-3 years from a single plant. This is pretty slow if you want to establish a plaintation. Care must be taken to avoid excessive destruction of the root and rizome system, and also to avoid drying out the roots. This can, however, be an excellent method of splitting up potted bamboo for sharing with your friends. Note that some bamboo propigate naturally this way when culms touch the ground (e.g., weeping bamboo).

This method is simple. The branches are clipped short. The culm is sawed into sections (each with one or more internodes) and planted in either pots or directly in the ground. A variant is to plant an entire culm in a trench.

Rizomes, bamboo's underground stems, can also be dug up, cut into lengths, and planted. This method has had mixed results. Be sure to (1) include at least one bud per rizome section, and (2) keep the rizome and attached roots moist during the process.

You may have noticed that at least some bamboo has what look like rootlets at the base of branches. These may be propigated by putting moist spagnum peat moss over the area, covering with plastic wrap, and waiting until roots grow. The small, rooted plant may be cut from the culm and planted in a pot (or even in the ground). The advantages of this method are that (1) a valuable culm is not destroyed and (2) many plants may be propigated from a single culm. The disadvantage is that branches may be well above ground level in some species.

Tissue culture is a specialized, scientific method of propigation that I frankly don't know enough about to discuss. I suspect that you would need to be planting at least several hundred acres before it became an economically viable alternative.

There are several known bamboo pests. I'll add information as I obtain more information.

This page is in transition...and there are still any number of questions that I have regarding bamboo.

1. How much labor does an an acre of bamboo require at a sustainable yield level?
2. How often would I need to harvest culms for timber?
3. How often would I need to harvest shoots? Is there a season?
4. What is the best way to dry/cure bamboo? Should a preservative be used?
5. How about termites?
6. What is the sustainable yield of a mature stand of bamboo, by species, per acre?
7. What is the value of a mature culm? (By size)
8. What do fresh bamboo shoots go for (in Hawaii) (wholesale)?
9. What density should you plant a clumping bamboo for a sustained yield in the shortest time?
10. What special benefit does bamboo have in erosion control?
11. How steep a slope can I plant bamboo on? Are some species better than others on the steep? (If I can plant on a steep slope, I can plant bamboo in places where other crops cannot be raised.)

If you have the answers to these or other questions, please send me an e-mail with the answer or the place where I might be able to find the answer. (Many thanks!)

This section is under construction.

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