A-Wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop-bamboo

In addition to passiflora, I realized early on that I could plant bamboo. There was a lot more to learn about this grass than I anticipated. Rhizomes really amounted to much of the learning, but because I intended to place them in confined spaces, I wasn't much concerned about the tendencies for some species to run for miles. I first planted some black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) along the fence in a brick planter to see how it would do. It was pretty weepy for awhile, but then in my first Spring at the new house the shoots came up. It was amazing to watch them reach for the sky. "Grass grows fast" as they say. (Or maybe they don't say it, and I just said it).

The new shoots eventually reached above the original height, were more rigid, larger diameter, and turned black quickly. I was both impressed and thrilled. This meant that I could search out a new bamboo for the other side of the yard. I eventually settled on Spectabilis (Phyllostachys aureosulcata) from Bamboo Garden. It hasn't seen a Spring yet, but it did send up some shoots at the end of the Summer that were nice and rigid. Again, the original plant is weepy, and I'm not sure why. But, once I have enough new growth, then I'll cut all the old down and let the tall large culms dominate.

Once the new growth is in after this Spring (March is when the black bamboo grew last season), then I'll post some solid pictures. Hopefully, the plants can screen my neighbors without blotting out the sun. I'm anxious as always. And, did you know that those plants offered as "curly bamboo" or "lucky bamboo" are not bamboo at all? They're (Dracaena sanderiana) part of an aquatic family of plants consisting of asparagus; plants native to Cameroon and West Africa.