Every year brings the anticipation of which bamboo is going to shoot first.
This year the winner is Fargesia Rufa. Last year it was Fargesia Murielae. What makes bamboo plants shoot in a different sequence each year & why do they shoot at different times depending on your geography in the UK?
Tuesday 31 March 2009
Monday 30 March 2009
Caring for your Bamboo Plants
Growing Bamboo: Some Key Points
· Most bamboos prefer full sun and a soil pH of around 6.0 - 6.2.
· Newly planted bamboo requires liberal watering.
· Lack of water is the biggest problem with growing bamboo.
· Bamboos require water to send out new culms.
· Standing water inhibits the growth of bamboo.
· Bamboo doesn't like competition from weeds.
· Taller bamboo should be staked, to prevent uprooting.
· Bamboos are evergreen and will lose and replace leaves as they grow.
· Since bamboos are grasses and are grown for their foliage. Feed with a high nitrogen fertilizer. Mulching will help control moisture and will protect cold hardy varieties in winter.
· Most bamboos prefer full sun and a soil pH of around 6.0 - 6.2.
· Newly planted bamboo requires liberal watering.
· Lack of water is the biggest problem with growing bamboo.
· Bamboos require water to send out new culms.
· Standing water inhibits the growth of bamboo.
· Bamboo doesn't like competition from weeds.
· Taller bamboo should be staked, to prevent uprooting.
· Bamboos are evergreen and will lose and replace leaves as they grow.
· Since bamboos are grasses and are grown for their foliage. Feed with a high nitrogen fertilizer. Mulching will help control moisture and will protect cold hardy varieties in winter.
Saturday 28 March 2009
Using bamboo in your garden
There are many ways to use bamboo in your garden design. It can be used as a hedge or screen to provide privacy from your neighbors, in containers for your terrace or patio or as means of creating your own secret bamboo forest to wander through. It mixes well with both perennials and annuals and can be used as a tall or medium background plant, an accent plant or as a low border or ground cover plant depending upon the variety you choose.
An interesting fact about bamboo is that the main stems (referred to as culms or canes) emerge from the ground in the diameter that they will always be. And, the next season’s new culms usually emerge wider in diameter and grow to be taller than the older canes. Therefore, the youngest canes in your planting are the thickest and tallest.
Bamboo comes in a variety of heights and can be trimmed from the top if it gets too tall. Generally speaking the larger bamboos like yellow groove prefer several hours a day of direct sunlight, while the smaller bamboos (under 20 feet tall), can tolerate partly shady conditions.
When using bamboo as a screen or hedge you want to treat the whole area by laying down good compost or manure, so when it spreads it travels into good soil. When planting very tall and slender bamboos, they may need to be staked to prevent wind from uprooting them or damaging newly formed roots. Generally, smaller bamboo do not need to be staked because the rootball is big enough to support the plant. Generally speaking, after five years under good growing conditions, a single planting will yield 30 to 40 culms, 3/4 inches in diameter and up to 20 feet high (dependent upon which variety you choose.)
See www.scottishbamboo.com for over 40 varieties of hardy bamboo ideal for the cooler UK climate.
An interesting fact about bamboo is that the main stems (referred to as culms or canes) emerge from the ground in the diameter that they will always be. And, the next season’s new culms usually emerge wider in diameter and grow to be taller than the older canes. Therefore, the youngest canes in your planting are the thickest and tallest.
Bamboo comes in a variety of heights and can be trimmed from the top if it gets too tall. Generally speaking the larger bamboos like yellow groove prefer several hours a day of direct sunlight, while the smaller bamboos (under 20 feet tall), can tolerate partly shady conditions.
When using bamboo as a screen or hedge you want to treat the whole area by laying down good compost or manure, so when it spreads it travels into good soil. When planting very tall and slender bamboos, they may need to be staked to prevent wind from uprooting them or damaging newly formed roots. Generally, smaller bamboo do not need to be staked because the rootball is big enough to support the plant. Generally speaking, after five years under good growing conditions, a single planting will yield 30 to 40 culms, 3/4 inches in diameter and up to 20 feet high (dependent upon which variety you choose.)
See www.scottishbamboo.com for over 40 varieties of hardy bamboo ideal for the cooler UK climate.
Sunday 15 March 2009
New Bamboo Stock now available
We're very excited to let all you bamboo lovers out there know about our new stock now available on the webiste.
The newly listed stock includes the following varieties - Phyllostachys Glauca, Phyllostachys Viridiglaucescens, Phyllostachys Vivax, Fargesia Rufa, Fargesia Robusta, Phyllostachys Aureosulcata 'Spectabilis', Fargesia Juizhaigou, Fargesia Dracocephala, Chimonobambusa Quadrangularis and Hibanobambusa Tranquillans Shiroshima. All these bamboo plants are fully hardy and very well suited to the UK cold climate - we're in North East Scotland, so if they survive and thrive here, they will anywhere in the UK!
Please visit the website www.scottishbamboo.com to view more details on these bamboo plants and much more.
The newly listed stock includes the following varieties - Phyllostachys Glauca, Phyllostachys Viridiglaucescens, Phyllostachys Vivax, Fargesia Rufa, Fargesia Robusta, Phyllostachys Aureosulcata 'Spectabilis', Fargesia Juizhaigou, Fargesia Dracocephala, Chimonobambusa Quadrangularis and Hibanobambusa Tranquillans Shiroshima. All these bamboo plants are fully hardy and very well suited to the UK cold climate - we're in North East Scotland, so if they survive and thrive here, they will anywhere in the UK!
Please visit the website www.scottishbamboo.com to view more details on these bamboo plants and much more.
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