permaculture

[Milogic@aol.com]

Frank,

The so-called running bamboos can do exactly that in due time. Like almost
any plant, they need some attention to do what you want them to do. At
shooting time, look where the shoots are coming up. If you don't want to have
a shoot there, stomp it, tromp it, nip or whack it off if you are of that
sort of mind. Otherwise, ask permission to lop that shoot off so that the
strength involved can move over to one growing where you want. In terms of
thinning, it is important to remember than the strengths to support new
shoots come from the older ones. Do thinning after shooting, a reasonable
rule to follow. Bamboo loves canopy and bamboo company and will try to
complete its own as soon as possible. It is self-mulching to a degree and
over time. In a happy planting, shooting may follow a rudimentary fibonacci
curve in terms of expansion. This is not a documented phenomenon, just a
hunch from a bamboo watcher.

Expect a plant or planting to reach maturity over maybe 5 to 7 years or
longer depending on the variety and climate, relationship to sun, etc. Thin
culms older than 5 years to start and then pay attention to what the plant
indicates as a guide to thinning. In cold season, when I lived in such
places, I would heap mulch around the bamboos and put some rocks on the sunny
side to act as solar heat sinks. If you have a hot, dry summer keep the mulch
and take away the rocks.

Generally speaking most bamboos like a relatively loose, high humus soil with
good drainage. They like to be damp but not saturated. Once established, they
will tolerate a lot of abuse and keep coming back hoping that someone will be
nicer to them. 

Look at the American Bamboo Society Webpage  <A HREF="http://www.bamboo.org/ab
s/">ABS Web page</A> to find the Annual Source List. That list gives
information about sun tolerance, expected characteristcs at maturity, cold
and heat tolerance, etc. There is a list of vendors included in the source
list. 

I would look for bamboos which have been propagated or divided in your
general area rather than brought in from a zillion miles away where they were
grown under different conditions. Bamboo tend to be very mico-climate
sensitive. They are also sensitive to neighbors making excellent or rather
poor companions. Much of that sensitivity can only come through watching how
the bamboos behave in a particular location.  

I am a bamboo aficionado but far from a taxonomic expert of any kind. I just
grow them for enjoyment and company.

If you are nice to Steve at ATTRA, he has an excellent summary about bamboo
which I would recommend, too.

Shredding: Bamboo has a tough hide with a lot of silica in it which wrecks
hell with any but the bigger and better shredders by which I mean the $25,000
to $40,000 varieties. Many shredding companies will recommend that you get a
competitor to shed yours for you. Save your Troybilt for tender trees and
barbed wire.

Milo Clark
Berkeley CA USA