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bamboo rising
Old 06-04-2007, 03:43 PM   #1
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bamboo rising

largest of all the grasses, bamboo grows quicker than any other woody plant in the world. there are more than 1000 species (only 3 native to north america, more than 60% native to southeast asia). while new shoots might start slowly, a culm can reach full height in 60 days with some species growing at a rate of 2 feet per day.

yesterday, i noticed my tropical black producing 3 sprouts (actually there were only two yesterday) right after tropical storm barry pushed through and gave the garden a much needed drenching. i thought it might be fun to document here in pictures the growth. (not all shoots survive so lets hope i picked a good one.)

this is gigantochloa atroviolcacia aka tropical black bamboo. it clumps tightly at the base, growing mostly verticle and then flares out like a fountain at it's peak height of 40 feet. culms of a mature plant are 3 inches in diameter. mine is about 3 or 4 years old, about 20 ft tall with the thickest culm being just under 2 inches.

a skinny twig or two in a 3 gallon container will put you back about $80 while a field grown plant will cost over $500--guess which one i started with. in my garden it is located at the rear, center stage, in front of the grotto, rising up as a garden focal point, to form the front entry to the grotto and to partially hide some electric lines higher up at the property line. it is flanked by two yellow, asian lemon bamboo clusters.

ladies and gentlemen, i present to you in all its magnificence:

bamboo rising

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Old 06-04-2007, 03:55 PM   #2
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Looks delicious. Harvest it quickly!
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Old 06-04-2007, 04:08 PM   #3
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Beautiful culms. Mine are popping up like mad, too.

They go from pop-out to full height in about 60 days. So for a 40 foot beauty, that's 8 inches a day. I often come home and see growth of 2-3" a day in my Buddha Belly that's finally starting to explode. Love it.
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Old 06-04-2007, 07:14 PM   #4
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There's some bamboo on the rise...
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Old 06-04-2007, 07:45 PM   #5
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There's some bamboo on the rise...
Is that like a woody?
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Old 06-04-2007, 08:28 PM   #6
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There's some bamboo on the rise...
Earthquakes and lightning?
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Old 06-04-2007, 09:13 PM   #7
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Theres a bathroom on the right?
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Old 06-07-2007, 12:55 PM   #8
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Looks delicious. Harvest it quickly!
put your hands in the air and wok away from that bamboo sprout, you cannibal.

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There's some bamboo on the rise...Is that like a woody...Theres a bathroom on the right
pervs

hey, this is almost as exciting as watching grass grow. here's bamboo on day 4, growth rate a not yet impressive .33 inch/day.



this tree frog was entertaining me last night, hanging out on the picture window waiting for moths attracted to the light. there's another one who hangs out by the front porch light.



when i had wolfpuppy in my life the opportunistic frogs and lizards used to hang out on his poop, ambushing flies.
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Old 06-11-2007, 03:41 PM   #9
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sprout now at 4.25 inches. growth rate now at .375 inch/day. in the bamboo's defense we're in the middle of a drought. think maybe i'll substitute viagra for fertilizer. cool, blue bamboo.

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Old 06-16-2007, 06:37 PM   #10
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bamboo now at 7.75 inches has revved up to 0.7 inches per day growth rate. turns out i'm monitoring the wrong one because another species popped out of the ground the other day after a heavy rain and is blowing this one away. 9 inches in like 4 days. oh well, this one should crank up pretty soon. patience please. it is, after all, watching grass grow.

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Old 06-16-2007, 06:47 PM   #11
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You better give it some fertilizer, Bum, 'cause I've seen bean plants grow faster than that.
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Old 06-16-2007, 08:09 PM   #12
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You better give it some fertilizer, Bum, 'cause I've seen bean plants grow faster than that.
Just wait...
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Old 06-16-2007, 09:38 PM   #13
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My wife says NO bamboo in her yard!!

I love the stuff, and we have a great spot for it.
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Old 06-17-2007, 07:20 AM   #14
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it is, after all, watching grass grow.

Can you put a little paint on it so we can watch that dry at the same time?
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Old 06-17-2007, 02:01 PM   #15
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You should use this early slower growing time to build a measuring device. That tape only goes to 25 feet and you're going to have to stand on a hellofa ladder to get that high.

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Old 06-30-2007, 02:02 PM   #16
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You better give it some fertilizer, Bum, 'cause I've seen bean plants grow faster than that.
yer gonna need jack to climb down that stalk 'cause otherwise i'd like to see you build a house or a bridge with that bean plant.

"Bamboo takes in nearly 5 times the amount of greenhouse gases, and produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees." "By encouraging the growth and utilization of bamboo, we can begin to combat global warming."~~deborah keesey, abs magazine

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Can you put a little paint on it so we can watch that dry at the same time?
&
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You should use this early slower growing time to build a measuring device. That tape only goes to 25 feet and you're going to have to stand on a hellofa ladder to get that high.
hmmm, do i see another e.r. project in the works? yippee, something i can do all day.


seems i picked the wrong bamboo. i started photoing this one because it was the first sprout to sprout. but since then a teddy bear sprout has risen 90 inches (yesterday it wasn't as tall as me and today it is taller than me). that's almost 4 inches per day.

and this bambusa membranacea (pka dendrocalamus mebranaceus) has since risen 34 inches or about 1.5 inches per day.



the subject black bamboo is now at 27 inches. so the growth rate has accelerated from .7 to 1 inch per day. note though that the rhizone has put out a few more competing sprouts (subject culm to the far right).

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Old 07-07-2007, 12:01 PM   #17
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we've been getting a ton of rain over last month. i think one spot in miami yesterday got 5 inches. my garden couldn't be wetter or happier.

the green bambusa membranacea is now 3 inches in diameter & 55 inches high, growing at a rate of 3 inches per day.

the subject tropical black bamboo shown below is now 64 inches growing at a rate of 5.28 inches per day. houston we have lift off.

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Old 07-09-2007, 05:46 PM   #18
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never look down on a bamboo, because two days later bamboo is looking down on you. now at 76 inches and over my head, the tropical black is growing at a rate of 6 inches per day. before long it will be producing oxygen and providing shade before it eventually becomes a renewable resource for shelters, bridges, fences, windchimes, furniture, fly rods and that 10-foot pole unafraid to touch any subject. according to Bamboo Technologies | About Bamboo 2.5 acres of bamboo can soak up to 12 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

now all i need is permission to extend my garden into my neighbors' yards...

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Old 07-12-2007, 03:52 PM   #19
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the tropical black has just about grown out of the camera. now 93 inches tall, growth has leveled off at 5.66 inches per day. my teddy bear bamboo is already at least 20 feet tall, so growth for that averaged about 6.33 inches per day.



another interesting bamboo in the garden here is this tropical blue aka emperor's blue aka bambusa chungii. still somewhat rare, it was first imported from china in the 1990s. pretty much just an ornamental as it is very thin walled, the young culms produce a powder--called a bloom (but it is not a flower)--over the entire surface. when the light hits just right, the bamboo glows blue. the solid green culms in the picture are older culms which have lost their bloom.

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Old 12-07-2007, 02:52 PM   #20
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What's it look like now?
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