Top 10 Best Selling Bamboos
5 Phyllostachys Aureosulcata Spectabilis
How Bamboo Plants Grow
Bamboo plants produce new canes (culms) in the Spring. These shoots emerge out of the ground and grow in height and diameter for approx 60 days, although this can vary for each species. During this growing period it will produce new limbs and leaves.
After the period of growth, the new bamboo canes do not grow in height or diameter again. It will put on new foliage every year, and typically a cane will last for 10 years.
The bamboo plant is actually a member of the grass family and is classified as a colony plant. It uses energy from the existing plant to produce more plants the next year increasing the size of the colony. The new plants will grow in the same manner. New shoots emerge to turn into a cane with limbs and leaves within approximately a 60 day period.
It takes a bamboo plantabout three years to get established. Once established the new shoots that emerge in the Spring (they will still only grow for approx 60 days) will continue to get bigger and more numerous from year to year. It takes a varying number of years (4-15) for different species to reach their maximum size. This is dependent on species selection, soil, sunlight, climate and watering conditions.
The Bamboo plant is a noble plant - both gracious and hard working
No matter what their size, all bamboo plants are decorative, graceful plants. They have so many different characteristics from their pointed, rustling leaves, their decorative culms (canes) with raised nodes and an amazing array of colours - some can be pale honey, warm yellow, bright green, dark green, dusty blue, deep crimson, near-purple and sophisticated black. Many are striped and some are spotted like leopard skin.
What's more, the main reasons we love bamboo, they are evergreen, frost-resistant - and largely untroubled by pests and diseases. They can be grown as dramatic, solitary specimens, in combination with other plants, as groundcover or even as a hedge.
Bamboos are native to all the major continents, except for Europe, but most of those in cultivation come from China & Japan. In Chinese philosophy, the bamboo symbolises longevity, durability and endurance, and is one of "The Four Gentlemen of the Garden", along with the orchid, plum blossom and the chrysanthemum.
Is bamboo really hardy enough to survive in Scotland and the rest of the UK?
This is the main area of concern for people who want to have bamboo in their garden - will it survive the harsh winters in the UK, especially those we get north of the border in Scotland (here in Aberdeenshire we have seen temperatures plummet as low as -15 degrees centigrade)? The real answer to this question is that each species of bamboo has its own limits for tolerating conditions such as heat, cold, drought and wind. Scottish Bamboo, however, only sell bamboo proven to survive in cold climates where temperatures can reach well below -15 degrees C. In fact many of the bamboos we sell will survive to extremes such as -25 degrees C. Within the description of each bamboo listed on our website, the hardiness rating will be given.
Other common myths about bamboo explained:
Is bamboo evergreen? Yes, bamboo plants are evergreen, they don't lose their leaves during the autumn and winter months. Leaf loss only very rarely happens and is usually a sign the plant is distressed i.e. requires more water or pot bound.
Will bamboo take over my garden? Most varities of bamboo grown in the UK are reasonably well behaved and grow by forming clumps. There are spreading varieties however these can be easily contained by the use of root barriers or by cutting away any unwanted culms as they appear through the ground.
DID YOU KNOW? - Amazing Facts About Bamboo
Bamboo is Environmentally Friendly & Sustainable
