My bamboo

I love bamboo! I don't know what it is but I've always thought it was really cool. I bought my first house in December 2010 and decided I would plant some the following spring. I've heard people say not to, that it's invasive and hard to kill but that just sounds like a challenge to me.

I started out planting just one (and my only clumping variety and the only one I bought locally. The rest I had delivered from a nursery in Oregon). This is called Phyllostachys bissetii

Same plant 1 year later in 2012

and now, April, 2013,  it's starting to grow vertically again (something bamboo only does for approximately 2 months in the spring. The rest of the time it grows horizontally underground)

June 2013

The second bamboo I planted called Phyllostachys Nigra or black bamboo. It's canes look like this

First day of planting

1 year later

Now, in April 2013, it's starting its 2 month vertical growth spurt.

June 2013

This is the 3rd kind I planted. It's called Phyllostachys edulis "moso". It takes bamboo about 5 years to become "established". This little guy is one of the tallest species on the planet.

1 year later (5 new canes)

And now, in April 2013 it's starting its new growth (60+ new canes)

One week later

The forth kind I planted is Phyllostachys vivax "Chinese Timber"

And the fifth kind I planted is called Phyllostachys Bambusoides "Madake or Japanese Timber"

These last two I've planted in the front yard. They will hopefully all look like this in a few more years.

I'll have to install deep ground boarders so they don't spread quite this wide. I'll contain each grove to roughly 20 feet across.

I also want to use the bamboo for practical purposes. I plan on using it to floor in my attic. To build a pergola for my patio and to build a shed for the backyard. You can even eat young bamboo shoots.

Here's a clever way to container garden with bamboo.

My kitchen utensils like spoons and spatulas are bamboo. I've even ordered some bamboo toothbrushes as a "greener" alternative to plastic ones. Bamboo will breakdown eventually, unlike plastic. Thrown away toothbrushes are found by 1,000's in the ocean and some 50 million pounds of them are tossed into America’s landfills each year.

This bike frame is bamboo

Here's a cool bamboo house

Cool bridge

If I had more room, I would get some like the next two pictures:

Here's a picture of one in my front yard on day 1.

a year later

May 12, 2013

June 2013

How cool is this?!

If you don't like something in your yard, get rid of it! This bush was boring so I slapped a chain on it and pulled it out with my truck.

Of course I planted some bamboo in that spot.  :)

I even tried to grow sequoia sempervirens, better known as Redwood Trees. Here's a picture of me in Redwood National Park in northern California.

Hard to believe these giants start out small but they do. And they look like this.

 and this

They grew bigger pretty quickly

But sadly all three died. Even though I tried keeping the mulch away from the tree, I over-mulched. :( I might try them again. Who wouldn't want a giant redwood tree (or three) in the yard?!!