In Praise of Bamboo
by Chris Winslow
Today let’s celebrate this amazing grass. A few facts: over a billion people
around the world live in bamboo houses; there are 1,500 species; and it can
grow 4 feet in a day. And people are also getting more creative in their uses
of it. You can now buy a bicycle with a bamboo frame (see photo above). You
might ask, what next? Bamboo eyeglass frames? Well, as a matter of
fact... yes! Click here for details:
bamboo glasses
As wonderful as all this is, of all the great screening plants available for our
central Texas area, bamboo is the most misunderstood. Bamboo is on the
‘bad boy’ list of the City of Austin and the Grow Green Guide, where it
is listed as an invasive species.
If you plant a ‘running’ bamboo as a fast growing screen, expect a chill in
relations with your neighbors. They are going to be kept busy year after year
combating your invasive running shoots.
The solution is simple enough. Plant ‘clumping’ bamboo rather than running
bamboo. The clumping ones look beautiful in our landscapes, and you will
still have cordial relations with neighbors.
Clumping varieties grow slowly in circles, and send out new shoots from their
base rather than going madly across the yard. My favorite? Alphonse Karr.
It’s 15 to 20 feet tall, and is one of the most cold hardy of the clumpers.
The shoots often appear pink to red in color, while stalks or culms are orange-
yellow with a vertical green stripe. Planted on 2 to 4 foot centers, this bamboo
will make a satisfyingly dense privacy screen.
Plant them individually, and you will find Alphonse Karr makes an attractive
specimen plant. When looking for suitable clumping forms of bamboo, pick one
that has sufficient tolerance to cold. Many are damaged when temperatures fall
below 20 degrees. (This was the lesson the recent severe frost reminded us of.)
Other good ones to look for are golden goddess, Buddha’s belly, and giant
timber. Golden goddess is a dwarf form, rarely growing taller than 8 feet.
Its density makes it an effective screening plant. Buddha’s Belly is a tall
clumper with zig-zag culms.
Giant timber bamboo can grow over 30 feet tall and produces giant green
culms. To see a healthy specimen, check out the giant timber bamboo at the
Four Hands Furniture Warehouse of St. Elmo east of I.H. 35.
Giant Timber should be placed in a somewhat protected location as its winter
hardiness is placed at 18 degrees. Care and location for growing of bamboo is
important if you want a fast growing screen. Most bamboos thrive in a sunny
to partly sun location with plenty of moisture.
Our native soils should be enriched with compost at the time of planting. Continued
moisture and feeding is essential if you want them to grow at high speed.
You can also grow them in containers. Choose one with good drainage and select
a premium potting soil mix. I once planted two large golden goddesses in a four
foot tall, oblong cattle trough to provide screening and privacy on a back porch.
It worked great!
You can see plenty of bamboo at Casa de Luz in Austin (1701 Toomey Road,
Austin 78704), and at Zilker Park's Taniguchi Japanese Garden.
Happy gardening everyone!
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