Paul James, host of HGTV's Gardening by the Yard, discusses bamboo--and why gardeners should consider adding them to their gardens. Bamboos are beautiful plants, but few people add them to their landscape. Many gardeners believe bamboo spreads like wildfire, which isn't true of all species. Some bamboos are invasive, but the same is true of many other plants. Many people also think that bamboos die when the temperature drops below freezing, which isn't true. A number of bamboos are native to mountainous regions of China, where temperatures regularly drop below zero, and chances are you can find a bamboo species that will do fine in your garden, no matter where you garden. Another false assumption is that all bamboos are tall. Although we're perhaps most familiar with bamboos that tower over our heads and our houses, bamboos range in height from 18" or so to several stories tall. Many varieties of bamboo are available, including those that run and those that grow in clumps. Some bamboos have wide leaves, others have narrow ones. The culm is a bamboo's main stem or trunk (figure A), which is usually hollow except at the nodes (figure B), the points from which lateral branches emerge. A rhizome (figure C) is a horizontal creeping stem on or just under the ground, from which new shoots (figure D) arise and roots descend. In the case of running bamboos, rhizomes may spread considerable distances from the mother plant; this isn't the case with clumping bamboos. Bamboos are remarkably easy to grow, and although they prefer a sandy loam, they tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, including heavy clay. Like most plants, they like a good, deep soaking once a week, and they like two feedings a year: a heavy nitrogen feeding in early spring and a balanced fertilizer in the fall. The tall running varieties make beautiful living fences or privacy hedges. Space plants roughly 5' apart, and in about 3 years you'll have a wall of bamboo. Tall clumping bamboos make excellent specimen plants, whether planted in the ground or in pots. Dwarf bamboos, many of which tolerate part to full shade, make attractive groundcovers, and they may be just the ticket in spots where you've had difficulty getting anything else to grow. If you're putting in a new planting of a running bamboo and you want to keep its growth in check, dig a 2' trench around the planting area, and install a barrier of 30 mm plastic. It's like planting bamboo in its own pot. The minimum depth for a trench is 2', and digging it is a task you'll want to complete before you plant. Once a stand of bamboo is established, the rhizomes and roots are extremely tough and difficult to cut. Because bamboo's amazingly thick mass of roots bind the soil so effectively, these plants are terrific for controlling erosion on steep slopes or hillsides. Bamboos are bothered by relatively few insect pests. In the South aphids may be a problem, and gardeners on the West Coast and in the Pacific Northwest may detect bamboo mites. Both are easy to control with a strong blast of water from the hose or with applications of horticultural oil. If you take care of your bamboo, you'll be rewarded for years to come. Most plants mature in 60 to 120 years, then flower and die. Keep in mind that bamboo offers yet another bonus in the form of wood, which grows much faster than that of regular trees. Bamboo lumber may be used to build all kinds of neat structures.
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