Unknown properties of bamboo. Growing bamboo at home What is the root system of bamboo

Bamboo is an evergreen perennial plant that belongs to the grass family and is common in tropical regions of Asia.

This plant is known as a strong building material and as the fastest growing plant on the planet.

For 2,000 years, bamboo has been widely used as a material for the construction of bridges, homes, boats, household utensils and musical instruments. The omniscient Chinese made needles from bamboo for their ancient medical operations, tenths of a millimeter thick, as well as plumbing, which was used until the 3rd century BC. Using such a water pipeline, they transported salt water from salt springs to Tsu Liu Ching (Suchian Province).

Bamboo stems can grow up to 40 meters. At the same time, the growth rate of the plant can reach 75 cm per day.

A group of bamboo in a certain area blooms only once every few decades. In this case, bamboo of the same type blooms at the same time, regardless of where it grows.

Another mystery is associated with the fruiting of bamboo. Plants of the same group, which originated from the same “parent,” bloom at the age of 33 to 66 years and die after fruiting. Such mass death of bamboo groves has an extremely negative impact on both human life and the lives of animals, such as giant pandas from China.

Bamboo groves are actually thickets of giant grass, as the plant belongs to the grass family.

Another feature of bamboo is the different diameter of the trunks, which depends on humidity, soil composition and species. Therefore, it is very difficult to collect a large number of shoots of the same diameter. To transport the trunks, ingenious knots are used to group shoots of different diameters and thicknesses. In modern times, special adhesives and even accessories such as bolts are sometimes used.

In countries where bamboo grows, this plant is treated with respect. Bamboo is used not only for construction, but also for making furniture and crafts. bamboo is considered a symbol of purity and happiness.

Some bamboo varieties produce a special oil, tabashir, which is used, for example, as a medicine for asthma, cough and even as an aphrodisiac in southwest Asia. And heated bamboo produces a flammable resin used in lanterns. By the way, the first light bulb, made in 1880 by Thomas Edison, used specially processed bamboo fiber as an incandescent filament.

Some structures made from bamboo have survived thousands of years. An enclosed bamboo bridge spanning the Ming River (southwest China) was built in the 3rd century AD. Its length is 320 meters, it is a suspension bridge, the supporting structures of which are 15 bamboo cables, each 5 centimeters in diameter. It is still in good condition and undergoes preventative maintenance twice a year.

Even in 1905, China had drilling stations made entirely of bamboo. The height of these structures was 75 meters, and they were built in 220 AD - almost 1800 years ago! This is durability...

Another advantage of bamboo is that if you cut down its trunk, a new one will begin to grow in that place. Bamboo roots very branched, and send out new shoots at a distance of up to 6 meters from the center. There are about 180 central roots per hectare of bamboo forest that support this entire plantation for decades. Bamboo roots are also very resistant to erosion, landslides and even earthquakes, due to their exceptional strength and vitality.

The structure of bamboo wood is similar to oak wood. However, its strength, according to research by French scientists, is two and a half times higher than the strength of oak wood.
In financial terms, the cost of building a bamboo house is 8 times less than building a modern concrete building of the same size. But in the event of an earthquake, the concrete building will collapse much earlier. Therefore, bamboo is widely used to build houses nowadays in southwest Asia, Africa and Latin America.

There are more than a thousand types of bamboo. Some of them grow in severe cold conditions in the mountains, at an air temperature of -24 degrees Celsius, at altitudes of about 5000 meters above sea level. Argentine and Chilean types of bamboo, on the contrary, grow in conditions of high humidity and temperatures unbearable for humans.

The main producers of bamboo in the world are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Kenya, Costa Rica and Brazil. All of them grow up to 10 million tons of bamboo per year.

The record for bamboo growth was recorded in Japan. The stem of madake bamboo grew 5 cm in an hour, increasing by 120 cm per day.

Bamboo used not only in construction. Sugar is extracted from this plant, and young shoots, roots and seeds are eaten.

There are more than a thousand species of bamboo in the world. However, some plants can tolerate both severe sub-zero temperatures and live at altitudes of about 5000 m above sea level, as well as conditions of high humidity and high temperature.

The root system of bamboo is distinguished by its strength and vitality. One hectare of bamboo grove can only have 180 central roots supporting all the plants.

The oldest bamboo structure that has survived to this day is the 320-meter-long bamboo suspension bridge at An Lan, spanning the Ming River in southwestern China. This bridge was built in the 3rd century AD.

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on Earth. A typical bamboo grows as much as 10 centimeters in one single day. Certain species grow up to a meter per day, or about 1 millimeter every 2 minutes. You can actually see the plant growing right before your eyes. In just 5 to 8 years, most varieties of bamboo reach maturity. Compare this to other popular plants that grow just an inch in a week. Trees such as oak take 120 years to reach maturity.

But when it comes to flowering, bamboo is probably one of the slowest plants in the world. Let's find out about the flowering phenomenon...

Bamboo flowering is an intriguing phenomenon because it is a unique and very rare phenomenon in the plant kingdom. Most bamboo stems bloom once every 60 to 130 years. Long flowering intervals remain a mystery to most botanists.

These slow-blooming varieties exhibit another strange behavior - stems produced from the same shoot bloom simultaneously throughout the world, regardless of geographic location and climate. Most bamboo is a 'division' from a single mother shoot. These divisions were re-divided over time and spread throughout the world. And although they are now geographically in different locations, they still have the same organization of genetic material. Thus, when bamboo blooms in North America, the same stem in Asia will bloom at about the same time. It looks as if plants have an internal clock where the alarm goes off at the same time. This mass flowering phenomenon is called communicated flowering.

One hypothesis is that mass flowering increases the survival rate of the bamboo population. Once a bamboo variety has reached its maximum lifespan, bloomed and produced seeds, the plant dies and entire forests are wiped off the face of the Earth. One theory is that seed production requires a huge amount of energy, draining the bamboo to the point that it essentially dies. Another theory suggests that the mother bamboo dies to clear space for bamboo seedlings.

Massive bamboo blooms attract predators, mainly rodents. The sudden availability of fruit in huge quantities attracts tens of millions of hungry rats into the forest, who feed, grow and multiply at alarming rates. After they eat the bamboo fruits, the rats begin to consume crops in neighboring areas. Bamboo blooms are almost always accompanied by famine and disease in neighboring villages. In the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, a terrible event takes place regularly every 48 to 50 years when the bamboo species Melocanna baccifera begins to bloom. This phenomenon last occurred in 2006 - 2008, called mautam, or “bamboo death” in the local language.

And now just something interesting about bamboo:

On the western outskirts of the Japanese city of Kyoto lies the popular tourist area of ​​Arashiyama. During the Heian Period (794-1185), this place was popular among the local nobles, who loved to come here to relax and enjoy the views of nature. The cherry blossom season was especially popular.

The famous Sagano Bamboo Forest is also located in this area.

The forest covers an area of ​​16 square kilometers. A pedestrian path is laid through its dense thickets, the fences of which are woven from fallen bamboo trunks. On a sunny day, when the rays break through the green thicket and the light wind blowing through the grove fills the air with amazing sounds, you realize what an amazing place you find yourself in.

Bamboo from this forest is still used to produce various products: dishes, boxes, baskets, mats.

The sound of the wind in Sagano has been recognized by the Japanese government as one of the "hundred sounds of Japan that must be preserved."

The entire area is literally riddled with narrow paths and cozy alleys leading to many ancient temples through numerous bamboo groves and squares.

There are temples and residential buildings right next to the trail - some Kyoto residents are lucky enough to live close to such beauty.

Bamboo is a gigantic tree-like cereal, the tallest grass on the globe, whose relatives are known to us wheat, rye, corn and other representatives of the cereal family. In addition, bamboo today is the fastest growing flowering plant, adding 70 to 100 centimeters or more per day. Bamboos in Vietnam grow up to two meters per day.

The fact that giant bamboo groves are actually thickets of grass, a kind of meadows of giants, is probably known to almost everyone. But bamboo has many strange properties that are little studied by science. Bamboo belongs to the cereal family, and is thus simply a grass, and this grass can grow up to 40 meters, reaching a girth of 80 centimeters. Bamboo is widespread in all Asian countries and in both Americas, and where its homeland is unknown.

Wherever bamboo grows, it is extremely valued and used in many industries - in construction, and for the manufacture of furniture and decorative products. But perhaps Japan is the most sensitive to bamboo. Along with the more famous sakura and pine, bamboo is a symbol of happiness and purity for the Japanese.

Can you hear plants growing? Most inhabitants of the Earth will answer this question in the negative. But residents of countries with hot climates, especially Southeast Asia and the Malay Archipelago, will answer that you can hear the growth of bamboo. The appearance of shoots on the soil surface is accompanied by a peculiar dull noise, and sometimes a crackling sound. At the beginning of growth, the bamboo stem gains more than 1 millimeter per minute. But there are 1440 minutes in a day! What allows bamboo to achieve such a truly cosmic growth rate?

In Japan, bundles of pine and bamboo branches are used to decorate the entrance to homes before the New Year to bring good luck and happiness into the house. In Japan, bamboo is considered almost animate: there is a belief that a young, extremely thin and fragile beauty lives in a thin empty bamboo stem, and if you cut the stem, she will come out. And on the Andaman Islands it is believed that all humanity appeared by emerging from the internodes of bamboo stems. Take a closer look at its stem, and you will see that it resembles the well-known stem of cereal plants, consisting of thickened nodes in which leaves and internodes are attached.

Bamboo is not only the tallest grass, but also the fastest growing. In the same Japan, observing the growth of bamboo, they set a record - the stem of madake bamboo grew by 120 centimeters in a day! This means that he grew by 5 centimeters every hour. And, the Japanese say, if you look at bamboo while it is growing, you can see how it grows with your own eyes. Carefully separate a leaf from a young stem of any cereal and you will see that under the protection of the leaf sheath there is a tender, juicy, sweetish area of ​​the so-called intercalary educational tissue, thanks to which the stem grows in height. Count the number of nodes. It is in them that the stem grows.

The flowering of bamboo is absolutely mysterious. This huge grass blooms once every 25–30 years, and some species even once every hundred years. Bamboo stems can be of varying thickness - from 1 to 30 centimeters or more. An interesting fact is that the size of the stem of a future bamboo plant can be determined even before its germination. To do this, it is enough to rake the ground and, having discovered a growth bud that has formed on the rhizome, measure its diameter. The maximum diameter of the bud will be equal to the maximum thickness of the stem. If you cut a bud lengthwise, you will notice that it, like a telescopic antenna, contains all the nodes of the future stem. The length of the stem will depend on the conditions under which the bud develops. Under favorable conditions, the growth of internodes occurs quickly, and the stem is capable of stretching by 2 meters per day; under unfavorable conditions, growth slows down. The fastest growth occurs in the lowest internodes of bamboo stems.

Among the local population, bamboo blooms are almost universally considered a bad sign. It is considered a harbinger of either hunger or diseases that can be carried by rats that have eaten bamboo fruits. It is not known whether these prophecies come true, but one sad event really awaits these lands - the death of bamboo groves. They say that in the countries of Southeast Asia this type of execution of especially dangerous criminals was adopted in ancient times. The criminal was tied over areas of bamboo rhizomes where there were a large number of buds, or over pre-sown seeds ready to germinate. The rapidly growing bamboo stalks after some time pierced his entire body like spears with their growing stems, after which a painful death followed. Looking ahead, let's say that bamboo stems are able to grow through fairly thick layers of asphalt and concrete.

Flowering ends the life span of bamboo; the plant spends too much energy on it, and when it flowers, it dies. Moreover, bamboo stems seem to have an incomprehensible ability to communicate with each other. Bamboo is a collective name for more than 75 (100) genera and 600 species of plants, similar in external structure. Their essential feature is the structure of the leaf, along with a linear or narrow oval blade; the leaf in the lower part does not form a sheath covering the stem, as in most cereals, but turns into a short petiole. In addition, the bamboo stem is capable of branching. These plants are inhabitants not only of tropical regions; there are bamboos that grow here on the island of Sakhalin. Among bamboos, climbing and climbing forms are known.

Because if bamboo blooms, then, as if by agreement, the whole grove blooms, no matter how large it is, or even several groves nearby. Bamboo growth is limited. Most of them grow within 30-45 days, and the growth of stems occurs continuously throughout the day, while in most trees, shoots grow for about 1 month a year at an average speed of 0.6 mm per day.

Therefore, flowering sometimes causes the death of bamboo over a large area. This, for example, happened once in Europe, where bamboo was grown. In such a short period of growth, the stems of certain types of bamboo reach a height of 30, sometimes 46 meters, the diameter of the stem is 25-30 centimeters. There is information that the stem length of bamboo growing on the island of Java reaches 51 meters.

And in China, the flowering and death of bamboo caused the starvation of the giant panda, which feeds only on bamboo. Sometimes tall grass plantations can regenerate after flowering from strong roots in the same place, but this takes several years. The wood of the stem is initially relatively soft, after 2-3 years it matures, acquiring extraordinary strength; at the end of the 3rd year it is usually cut off, leaving younger shoots to ripen. Every year, from 9 to 45 thousand stems weighing from 10 to 38 tons are cut from 1 hectare of plantations.

Because bamboo blooms so rarely, little is known about its flowering. It remains unclear what causes this periodicity and why bamboo has such a slow life cycle. Certain types of bamboo reach maturity, that is, the ability to flower and bear fruit, in 28-60 years. Then the bamboo begins to branch, form a crown of lanceolate leaves and bloom. Flowering and fruiting usually last 2-3 seasons, and sometimes 9 years. At this time, a huge amount of nutrients stored in the rhizomes is completely wasted, and the plant dies. Botanists call such plants monocarpics - they bloom and bear fruit once in their life, after which they die. The flowering periods of different types of bamboo are different, but the most established cycles are 33, 66 and 120 years. It is strictly through these periods that bamboo dies, developing huge flowering shoots instead of the usual ones.

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Look at the most beautiful ones, and here are some. And it also happens The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Bamboo (lat. Bambusa)- a genus of evergreen perennials of the Bamboo subfamily of the Poaceae or Poa family. In garden culture, plants are grown that belong not only to the genus Bamboo, but also to other genera of the Bamboo subfamily, but for simplicity, all these plants are called bamboos. And in our story we will call them that way, however, in the section on the types and varieties of bamboo, you can find out exactly what type and genus this or that cultivated plant belongs to.

Representatives of the genus Bamboo and the Bamboo subfamily grow in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and America, as well as in Oceania, and herbaceous bamboos grow exclusively in the tropics. Bamboos are becoming increasingly popular in cultivation: they are grown on terraces, they are used to decorate patios, and they make wonderful hedges.

Planting and caring for bamboo (in brief)

• Bloom: once every few decades.
• Landing: from March to September, in the middle zone - from April to June.
• Lighting: bright sunlight or light partial shade.
• The soil: any with a pH of 6.0-6.2, except clayey and heavy.
• Watering: at first - daily and abundantly, but when the seedlings take root and begin to grow, they are watered no more than 2-3 times a week.
• Feeding: Bamboo is fed with complex mineral fertilizer in spring and autumn, but the ratio of elements in spring and autumn feeding is different. If you use organic matter, add it in small quantities every month until the beginning of autumn.
• Limitation: Along the perimeter of the area with running bamboo, which can spread to areas not intended for it, sheets of plastic, iron or slate are dug into the soil to a depth of 1-1.5 m, which should rise 10-15 cm above the soil surface. Can be used to limit barrier film.
• Trimming: Every spring, cut out trunks that have lost their attractiveness and thin out the thickets for sanitary purposes.
• Reproduction: seeds and dividing the bush.
• Pests: mealybugs and spider mites.
• Diseases: rust.

Read more about growing bamboo below.

Bamboo plant - description

In nature, almost all bamboos reach enormous sizes. Woody, fast-growing bamboo stems (culms), branched at the top, can grow up to 35 and even up to 50 m. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. Their leaves are lanceolate and short-petioled. Multi-flowered spikelets in groups or singly located on special branches with scale-like leaves. Bisexual bamboo flowers bloom once every few decades, abundantly and en masse - almost simultaneously on all plants in the population. Ripe grains fall out of the flower scales and are carried by animals or water currents. After fruiting, the plants of the population usually die completely or only the above-ground part dies off, while the rhizomes are preserved.

bamboo plant– an excellent building material. Dried bamboo stem used to create gutters or wind pipes.

Conditions for bamboo

Due to the fact that bamboo is an evergreen plant, its decorative value for our latitudes increases many times: who would refuse to watch from the window in February exotic trunks with lush green leaves swaying against the backdrop of snowdrifts? However, most bamboos are heat-loving plants. There are only about 100 species that can withstand cold temperatures down to -20 ºC, and very few plants can overwinter at -32 ºC. By the way, the happy owners of garden bamboos claim: if the seedling survives the first winter, then subsequently it will not be afraid of twenty-degree frosts.

What conditions need to be created for bamboo in the middle zone? It grows best in a sunny or slightly shaded area, protected from dry and cold winds. An ordinary fence can serve as good protection from winter dry winds. Bamboo has no special requirements for soil; only heavy and clay soils are not suitable for it. The soil pH should be between 6.0-6.2 pH. Planting is carried out from spring, as soon as the soil warms up, until late autumn, that is, from March to September, but the ideal time is from April to June.

Planting bamboo

Bamboo is planted in the same order as other garden plants. First, dig a hole, which should be twice the volume of the seedling’s root system. Then a layer of fertile garden soil with the addition of humus is placed at the bottom of the pit and pressed down. Without removing the seedling from the container, place it in a bath of water for several hours. When air bubbles stop appearing, the bamboo along with the earthen lump is removed from the container and placed in a hole, after which the free space is filled with garden soil with humus, lightly compacting it so that there are no voids left in the soil. There is no need to compact the top 2-5 cm of soil. After planting, the seedling is watered abundantly so that all air pockets in the hole are closed.

Watering bamboo

Caring for bamboo is no more difficult than planting it. How to grow bamboo in the middle zone? At first, the seedlings are watered abundantly, and the surface of the soil is mulched with organic matter. When the bamboo begins to grow, watering is limited to 2-3 times a week: the frequency of watering and water consumption will depend on the amount of natural precipitation at this time of year. Keep in mind that bamboo, like other grains, is very moisture-loving, and when there is a lack of water, it develops a reliable and deep root system, allowing the plant to extract moisture from the depths.

Bamboo stops

There are two main varieties of bamboo grown in cultivation: running and bushy. Bushy bamboo grows in close groups and does not spread throughout the garden, but the roots of running bamboo spread superficially, at a depth of 5 to 20 cm, or even on top of the ground, capturing areas intended for other purposes, and you will have to cut them off, and more than once once a season. Cut off rhizomes should be removed from the soil, as they can develop on their own. But it is much safer to dig pieces of slate or metal around the perimeter of the area with running bamboo to a depth of 1-1.5 m so that they protrude 5-10 cm above the ground. You can also use a barrier film or root barrier as a limiter . This is a flexible but rigid plastic tape with a thickness of 6 mm and a height (width) of 50 to 100 cm. It, too, like pieces of slate, is dug into the ground along the perimeter of the area with bamboo, but not strictly vertically, but at an angle: the upper edge, protruding above the ground should be further from the area with bamboo than the lower one, located in the ground. Connect the edges of sheets of slate, iron or film not end-to-end, but overlapping, otherwise the bamboo roots will break through the limiter.

Bamboo trimming

Once a year, in the spring, cut out old, unattractive or frozen bamboo trunks. For sanitary purposes, you can thin out the thickets so that the sun's rays fall deeper into the planting. Keep in mind that if you cut a bamboo culm above a node, it may grow back.

Feeding bamboo

Garden bamboo is fed in the spring with nitrogen, phosphate and potassium fertilizers in a ratio of 4:3:2. The ratio between the elements of autumn feeding is different: 2 parts nitrogen, and 4 parts each phosphorus and potassium. After applying fertilizer, the old stems are cut off at surface level, and the area is mulched for the winter with a 10 cm thick layer of leaves or pine bark.

If you use organic matter as fertilizer, then fertilizing is carried out monthly throughout the season and stops at the beginning of autumn.

Wintering bamboo

In the first winter, bamboo roots may freeze if the temperature drops to -17 ºC, and at -20 ºC they may die. bamboo trunk: the part of it that is above the snow level will freeze. If you are afraid that the winter will be frosty or snowless, then bend the trunks of the plant, lay them on top of the mulch layer and cover with spruce branches, which will not allow the bamboo to freeze. And remember: if young bamboo successfully overwinters, next year it will not be afraid of frosts of -20 ºC.

Bamboo propagation

Seed propagation of bamboo

Bamboo seeds are soaked for 12 hours in clean water before sowing. While they are swelling, prepare a nutrient mixture of 8 parts topsoil, 1 part fine wood shavings and one part wood ash. Sift the mixture through a sieve, moisten and fill the cells in the cassette with it without compacting. Make a small hole 4-5 mm deep in each cell and place one bamboo seed in each (the seeds are removed from the water and blotted with a cloth 20 minutes before sowing) and seal the crops.

The crops are placed in partial shade, and until shoots appear, the soil is kept moist, for which you will need to spray it twice a day. Bamboo seeds germinate very slowly, and seedlings can be expected only after two, three or three and a half weeks. When the seedlings are 3-4 months old and they begin to form shoots, they are planted in separate containers filled with high-moor peat. From now on, bamboo is watered once a day, and it is better to do it in the evening. Seedlings are transplanted into open ground when they reach a height of 40-50 cm. However, it is advisable that young plants survive their first winter indoors, since in open ground they can freeze or die from lack of moisture. You can move them for the winter to a greenhouse or other unheated room, but protected from frost and drafts, and when the soil warms up, you can plant them in the garden.

Vegetative propagation of bamboo

Dig up a few stems that have reached three years of age in the spring and transplant them into partial shade. In order for the seedlings to take root, they are watered abundantly every day, after shortening the shoots by a third of their length.

Diseases and pests of bamboo

Bamboo is quite resistant to both diseases and pests, but some plant species can fall prey to mealybugs or spider mites. Bamboo is treated with insecticides against scale insects, and with acaricides against ticks.

Sometimes bamboo becomes infected with rust, from which the plant can be cured with fungicidal drugs.

Bamboo turns yellow

If bamboo leaves They begin to turn yellow in the fall, this is a natural process: in plants of the genus Fargesia, from 10 to 30% of the foliage turns yellow and falls off, and in plants of the genus Phyllostachys - up to 15%. Bamboo sheds some of its leaves to conserve energy for the winter months. When winter comes, the wind will blow away all the yellowed leaves, and the bamboo will look fresh and green again.

If the plant begins to turn yellow in spring or summer, this is a problem that can have two causes: flooding or chlorosis. If the plant receives more moisture than it needs, its roots may become rotten, and if you plant bamboo in heavy or clay soil, be sure to lay a layer of drainage material (gravel or sand) at the bottom of the hole.

As for chlorosis, it usually occurs due to a deficiency of nutrients, in particular nitrogen, magnesium or iron. Sometimes the cause of chlorosis is soil salinity. Correct your care mistakes and new bamboo leaves will grow green.

Garden bamboos can be roughly divided into low herbaceous plants and straight-trunked types with a rigid stem. When choosing a plant type for a garden, such a characteristic as frost resistance is very important, because bamboos are plants from the tropics and subtropics. The most frost-resistant of the Bamboo subfamily are plants of the Saza genus. Fargesia (or synarundinaria) are also distinguished by their hardiness and cold resistance. Bamboos of the genus Pleioblastus are attractive due to their high decorative value, and in more southern regions phyllostachys bamboos do well. Of the plants of the genus Bamboo, the most popular species in gardening is common bamboo. By the way, indoor bamboo, or decorative bamboo, has nothing to do with bamboos: Sandler's dracaena is hidden under these names.

Sasa

- a genus of the Bamboo subfamily, which includes about 70 plant species from Central and East Asia. Plants of the Saza genus form dense thickets on the edges or under the canopy of tall trees. On stems 30 to 250 cm high there are broad oval leaves, bright green in spring and summer, and drying out at the edges in autumn, creating a variegated effect. The most popular cultivated plants of this genus are:

• Kuril Sasa- bamboo with a height of 25 to 250 cm with stems about 6 mm thick and ovate-pointed leaves up to 13 cm long and up to 2.5 cm wide. This bamboo blooms only once, after which it dies. Kuril saz develops slowly; only its low-growing forms, which are used for Japanese gardens or as a ground cover plant, take root well in the middle zone. The Shimofuri variety with yellow streaks on green leaves is popular.

In addition to Kuril saz, in cultivation you can sometimes find saz Vicha, spikelet, golden, paniculate, palmate (Nebulosa variety with palm leaves), reticulated and branched.

Fargesia

- mountain Chinese bamboo, discovered in the 80s of the 19th century by French missionaries. Today there are about 40 species of these evergreen plants with a height of 50 cm, forming loose bushes with many shoots, covered with bright green graceful lanceolate leaves up to 10 cm long and up to 1.5 cm wide, which acquire a yellow-green color by autumn. The most common cultivated plants of this genus are:

• shiny fargesia (Fargesia nitida = Sinarundinaria nitida)- a type of winter-hardy bamboo with bright, glossy, dark red-brown, almost black stems from 50 cm to 2 m high. The leaves of Fargesia brilliantis are narrow-lanceolate, up to 12 cm long. The Eisenach variety with dark green small leaves, a tall variety, is popular McClue, a New Collection variety with violet-cherry stems, Great Wall - a variety with dark green leaves for tall hedges and Nymphenburg - a variety with narrow leaves on arched branches;
• Fargesia Murielae (Fargesia murielae = Sinarundinaria Murielae)- a type of frost-resistant bamboos native to Central China. The stems of plants of this species are yellow-green, smoothly curving, with a waxy coating. The leaves are long-pointed, pointed, bristly. Fargesia Murieli blooms once every century and dies after flowering. The last time flowering began was in the late 70s of the last century and lasted 20 years! Currently popular varieties of Fargesia Murieli are: Simba (a new Danish compact variety), Jumbo (a bushy bamboo with delicate green leaves) and Bimbo (the smallest variety with yellow-green leaves).

In addition to those described, Fargesia angioedema and Jiuzhaigou are also grown in culture.

Phyllostachys

– this genus of the Bamboo subfamily includes 36 species of plants with cylindrical flattened or grooved stems of green, yellow, black or bluish color with relatively short internodes, creeping rhizomes and green leaves. These bamboos reach a height of 3.5-5.5 m. The most famous cultivated species of the genus are:

• golden-grooved phyllostachys (Phyllostachys aureosulcata), growing up to 10 m in height with a stem diameter of 2 to 5 cm. This plant has dark purple, very convex nodes and golden yellow grooves. The most commonly grown varieties are Spectabilis (an unusually beautiful plant with zigzag canes, awarded an RHS prize) and Areocaulis, also an award-winning variety with golden stems;
• black phyllostachys (Phyllostachys nigra)- a plant up to 7 m high, the stems of which become almost black in color from the second year of life. The leaves of the plant are small and dark green in color. Most often, the species is cultivated in its homeland - Japan and China. Popular varieties are Boryana - a plant up to 4.5 m high, the stems of which become spotted in the sun, and Hemonis - a plant up to 9 m high with green stems;
• edible phyllostachys, or moso (Phyllostachys edulis = Bambusa moso) from southeastern China. This is the largest species of the genus, whose strongly ridged stems with smooth nodes reach a height of 20 m. The tortoiseshell form of this species with an alternating oblique arrangement of nodes, which can be found in Sukhumi, Batumi and Sochi, is interesting for its ugliness.

Phyllostachys sweet, Simpson's, pubescent, Meyer's, soft, flexible, green-blue, reticulated (aka bamboo) and golden are also grown in the gardens.

Pleioblastus

- a genus of long-rhizome, low-growing bamboos, which includes 20 species native to Japan and China. Some of these plants are frost-resistant, which allows them to be grown as a garden crop in the middle zone. Bamboo of this genus is shade-tolerant, but variegated varieties are best grown in sunny areas. The best plants for gardens are:

• Simon's pleioblastus (Pleioblastus simonii)- this species reaches a height of 8 m in nature. It has straight, highly branched stems with internodes up to 45 cm long, convex nodes and lanceolate leaves from 8 to 30 cm long. Unfortunately, in the middle zone Simone's pleioblastus does not grow above 50-60 cm, however, it is decorative due to its dense bushes with well-leafed shoots. The variegated form of Variegata has bright green leaves decorated with cream stripes of varying thickness;
• variegated pleioblastus (Pleioblastus variegatus) It is found in culture in the Caucasus: in Batumi, Sukhumi and Sochi. It reaches a height of 30 to 90 cm, it has thin, geniculate stems with short internodes and slightly pubescent green leaves with a white stripe, highly decorative. In frosty winters, this species sometimes loses its foliage, but recovers very quickly in the spring. Pleioblastus variegated develops quickly, forming wide bushes.

Narrow-leaved, low, dwarf, cereal, green-striped, double-rowed, Ginza, Shin and Fortune pleioblastuses grow well in culture, but they are not yet common.

Among other representatives of the Bamboo subfamily, some species of Indocalamus and Shibata are cultivated in the southern regions. As for the genus Bamboo, in garden culture it is represented by the species common bamboo.

Common bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris)

is a herbaceous deciduous plant with woody, densely leafy, bright yellow, rigid stems with green stripes and thick walls. Bamboo stems reach a height of 10-20 m, the thickness of the stems is from 4 to 10 cm, and the length of the knees is from 20 to 45 cm. The leaves are bright green, spear-shaped, and pubescent. Common bamboo rarely blooms and does not produce seeds, so the plant is usually propagated by dividing bushes, layering, shoots and rhizomes. The species has three varieties: green-trunked, golden (yellow-trunked) and variegated (a three-meter plant with knees about 10 cm long). The most famous varieties of this species include:

• striata– not as large as the main species, a plant with bright yellow constrictions between the knees and long dark green and light green spots located randomly on the trunks;
• Vamin– a medium-sized plant with thickened and flattened lower constrictions, giving the bamboo an unusual appearance;
• wittata– a common cultivated variety up to 12 m high with numerous barcode-like stripes on the trunk;
• maculata- a variety with green trunks covered with black speckles and streaks. With age, the trunks of the plant turn black completely;
• Vamin striata– the plant reaches a height of no more than 5 m. It has a light green trunk with dark green stripes and enlarged lower bridges;
• aureovariegata– this popular variety has thin golden stems with green stripes;
• kimmei- a variety with yellow trunks with green stripes.

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Bamboo is the tallest and most mysterious evergreen in the world. The plant, which is not a tree, can withstand gusts of wind.

It means a lot for Asian countries. According to their legends, it was bamboo that gave rise to life for all people on earth. We will tell you further about how to grow and care for bamboo, as well as at what speed it grows.

Bamboos belong to the cereal family and form a separate subfamily. This includes almost 50 genera and 1000 species. They all differ in shape and size, but they have one common feature - their light and durable trunk. It is for this trunk that the plant is so valued.

Photo of growing in a pot at home

In many species, the stem - the straw - becomes woody, but there are also annual ones. Among them there are also herbs with petiolate leaves or flowers with stamens. Basically, plants live in the tropics. But you can often find them in subtropical or even temperate zones. Some species grow high in the mountains. Some of them can be planted in pots, some in open ground.

Let's look at some of them:

The most unpretentious plant is the Kuril saza. It can be used as a regular grass lawn.

Low grasses - naked grass and many-branched - in combination with others form beautiful clearings in gardens and personal plots.

Dwarf bamboo has a very elegant appearance, it reaches a height of only 40 cm, and is used as an ornamental grass.

Phyllostachys and Fargesia grow up to 4-6 m. Phyllostachys grows only in warm climates. It grows quite quickly, so fencing barriers are installed in gardens.

Fargesia Muriel, on the contrary, feels quite comfortable in harsh conditions. Freezing in winter to the level of snow cover, the next year it gives new shoulder straps, stronger ones.

Polysyllabic mabuza can withstand frosts down to 10 degrees. The plant forms a low, dense bush with thin stems and bluish leaves. Used to decorate front gardens, courtyards, balconies.

This is only the smallest part of the huge family of this plant.

Flowering and reproduction

Seeing flowering bamboo is a rarity in nature. The plant is monocarpic. This means that they bloom once in their life and then simply die. Woody species can grow for several decades before flowering. The growth period can even last up to 100 years. The flowers of the plants are mostly small, hidden in the axils, almost invisible at first glance. But there are also species with large paniculate inflorescences.

Plants are also propagated by:

Bamboo care

In winter, plants should be kept in a bright, slightly cool room. In summer it grows well in an open sunny place. It is necessary to water abundantly in summer and moderately in winter.

Plants are replanted in the spring. Potted plants need to be replanted once a year, as the root system develops very quickly. The tubs are replanted every 2-4 years. It is best to use a mixture of turf, leaf, peat soil and sand for planting.

Every year, approximately 20% of the bamboo is cut down to rejuvenate the plantation.

Usage

A fresh stem is full of water. The annual stem is almost useless for practical purposes. As the stem matures, the water in the stem is replaced by fiber. The best bamboo is considered to be harvested between three and seven years of age. Such plants are used for:

From mature plants you can build houses, bridges, and create small objects: baskets, hats.

While watching the video you will learn about bamboo.

Of course, people take advantage of the rapid growth properties of bamboo to meet their needs. And this is not always done for the benefit of the person himself. For example, the high growth properties of grass have long been used to execute people

Attention, super FLIGHT!

Only experienced connoisseurs of exotics, for whom nothing is impossible, decide to acquire such an unusual indoor plant as bamboo. However, even a novice gardener can handle bamboo. A little care and attention - and this overseas beauty will live in your home flower collection for a long time.

Where and how does bamboo grow?

Bamboo, or Bambusa in Latin, belongs to the large family of cereals. The bamboo genus includes more than 600 species of plants, which are giant herbs with woody stems. There are several other genera in the grass family, and within them are species of plants also called bamboo. These are leafy plants, multi-branched plants and saza.

Among gardeners, “house bamboo” is very popular, which is also called “lucky bamboo” or “lucky”. In fact, this is Dracaena Sander, which belongs to the Dracaena family. This plant can be recognized by its spiral-shaped stems, which are formed artificially using special devices.

Interestingly, in the lap of nature, real bamboo grows incredibly quickly - up to 2 meters per day. Its trunk is a giant straw with nodes and internodes. If in other plants only the upper parts grow, in bamboo, at the moment of growth, all internodes lengthen at once. This feature explains the rapid growth. Because of its size, bamboo is sometimes called wood. For example, Burmese bamboo, native to India, reaches 40 meters in height.

Bamboo is native to tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, Australia and America. Under natural conditions, it grows in entire groves on the edges, clearings and along river banks. Bamboo reaches its maximum growth in one season, and then its height remains unchanged for several decades. The stems become very coarse, become very strong and acquire great value. There are about 600 known uses of this plant.

Bamboo has powerful and rapidly developing rhizomes. Starting to grow in a fairly spacious area, in a few years it can fill the entire area with its roots. It is extremely difficult to remove it. From a small piece of root, bamboo can quickly turn into a giant grass again. Local residents consider it a weed.

It blooms only once in its life, producing small paniculate inflorescences, and after the seeds ripen it ceases to exist. In southern countries, after flowering, entire bamboo groves that have been growing for many years die out.

Residents of southern countries have long attributed miraculous properties to the plant. In China, bamboo brings health and longevity to the home, in India it is considered a symbol of friendship, in the Philippines it gives prosperity and happiness. And scientists have proven that bamboo cleans the air of harmful impurities and improves the microclimate in the house.

Bamboo has very decorative leaves, having a narrow lanceolate shape. The green foliage forms a beautiful spreading greenery as it grows. No less decorative are unusual bamboo stems in the form of hollow green or yellow tubes.

Types of decorative bamboo for home cultivation

Only low forms are grown at home. The most common decorative types are:

• Shiny bamboo or Sasa nitida is a plant with purple stems reaching 3 m in length. It is grown as an indoor pot plant in home greenhouses.
• multilayered or polysyllabic, in Latin Bambusa multiplex - a tall species up to 4 m in height. Grows in rooms with high ceilings.
• bluish or in Latin Bambusa glaucescens is a dwarf species, reaching no more than 40 cm in height. Grown as a pot crop.
• variegated or Arundinaria fortunei - a dwarf form with variegated leaves decorated with cream and white stripes. Grows no more than 1 m in height.
• kumasasa, in Latin Shibataea kumasasa - an interesting form with zigzag flattened stems. Grows as a dwarf compact bush.
• Muriel or Shibataea muriliae is a plant with yellow stems that grows up to 3 m in length.
• Bamboo of happiness or Dracaena Sanderiana, in Latin Dracaena sanderiana, is a spectacular plant of the Dracaena family with spiral-shaped shoots.

Growth conditions

Indoor bamboo, despite its origin, is a very unpretentious plant. A bright, not very hot and well-ventilated room is the main conditions for successful growth.

Bamboo can be trimmed into different shapes. If you cut off the tops of a plant, it will stop growing and begin to rapidly grow leaves, thereby forming a variety of bizarre shapes. The stems should be cut 5 cm above the node.

Valentina Kravchenko, expert

With proper care, bamboo grows rapidly, actively develops and reproduces well. Dried leaves and shoots are quickly replaced by new ones, and the root system actively grows.

Growing bamboo at home

Most often, bamboo is grown from a small young plant purchased at a flower shop. When purchasing, you should carefully inspect the stem for pests or diseases. You should not purchase a diseased plant.

If, nevertheless, bamboo in your house is in a deplorable state, it is necessary to treat it in order to save the plant and not infect other indoor flowers. After purchasing, you need to replant it as soon as possible into a new container with the correct substrate, since very often store-bought plants are in containers with temporary soil, or the soil in the container may be contaminated with insects.

It is very important that the container is wide enough—about 2 times wider than the plant’s root system. After some time, when the bamboo grows and takes up all the free space in the pot, it is necessary to transplant it into a larger container.

In cases where space does not allow for greatly increasing the size of the pot, you can stop the growth of the bamboo by trimming its roots by a third, filling the container with fresh soil and placing it back in the old pot. If you do not replant and trim the roots, the plant will wither and shed its leaves due to the cramped conditions in the pot. In summer, it is very useful to take bamboo out into the fresh air - to the balcony or to the garden.

How to plant bamboo in a pot

The container for transplantation should be chosen not very deep and wide, always with drainage holes. At the bottom of the pot it is necessary to pour a layer of drainage about 3 cm high in the form of expanded clay or pebbles - this is a very important condition for the health of the roots.

Bamboo is transplanted into nutritious soil and watered well. It doesn’t hurt to keep the plant in partial shade for the first few days after transplanting. A young plant should be watered abundantly, but without allowing the soil to become waterlogged. Young plants are replanted every spring, and 3-year-old and older plants - every 2 or 3 years.

Growing bamboo in water

Most often, “lucky bamboo” or Dracaena Sander is grown in water. This plant thrives in moist environments and can grow up to 1 m in height. Real bamboo can also grow in water. Several “reeds” are placed in a ceramic or glass container with water and pebbles or glass balls at the bottom, to which the plant clings with its roots.

In order for the plant to feel good, it is necessary to provide it with melt or rain water. Bamboo will not tolerate tap water. You can easily prepare melt water yourself. To do this, fill a plastic bottle with ordinary tap water and place it in the freezer for two days. By defrosting the bottle at room temperature, you will get melt water.

Once every two or three months it is recommended to feed the plant with a special mineral fertilizer. The water in the vessel should be changed once a week. Pebbles need to be washed and rinsed with boiling water in a timely manner. It is useful to put several tablets of activated carbon into the water.

Reproduction of bamboo at home

Bamboo is propagated in the following ways:

• Dividing the bush. To do this, you need to dig up the roots and separate from them a strong root shoot with two or three nodules and thin roots. The new plant must be planted in a container of suitable size filled with nutrient soil. The presence of drainage at the bottom and moderate watering are the conditions for successful rooting of young bamboo.
• Side shoots that appear at the base of the bush. It is necessary to carefully separate the shoot, plant it in a container with soil and wait for rooting.
• Seeds. If you order bamboo seeds by mail, you can try growing it yourself. However, this is a very complex and unpredictable process. Before sowing, it is advisable to soak the seeds in a solution of a growth stimulant or potassium permanganate. You need to sow in bowls with drainage, fertile soil and drainage holes in the bottom. The seeds should not be located very deep underground. Germination can take up to 3 months. Can also be grown from seeds using hydroponics.

Caring for home bamboo

Soil and lighting requirements

The soil for “lucky bamboo” or Sander’s dracaena should be loose and moisture-permeable. You can use a ready-made mixture for dracaenas.

The soil for real bamboo must be heavy and nutritious. It is recommended to prepare the soil yourself from the following components: 1 share of peat, sand, humus, leaves and 2 shares of clay soil with turf.

Bamboo is a big lover of light. The plant can survive in full sun, but prefers western or eastern windows. If placed on a south window, the leaves of the plant will fade and lose their decorative effect. On the north window it suffers from lack of light, bushes poorly and loses leaves. In the summer, it is advisable to take bamboo to the balcony, veranda or garden. The plant loves fresh air.

Watering and fertilizing

In summer, bamboo needs to be watered abundantly, while in winter - moderately. It is important to ensure that the earthen ball does not dry out. It should be remembered that waterlogging is very dangerous for the plant, so the top layer of soil should dry out between waterings.

Bamboo can itself declare its need for watering. If its leaves begin to curl, it means there is not enough moisture, but if the foliage sags, this is a signal that the soil is waterlogged.

Occasionally, bamboo is sprayed with a fine spray method, which increases the humidity in the room. It also doesn’t hurt to regularly wipe the plant’s leaves with a damp cloth.

It is recommended to feed bamboo with fertilizers rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. Balanced mineral fertilizers are suitable. You can use fertilizers such as “Ideal”, “Rainbow” or “Giant”. You need to feed from April to August 2 times a month.

Diseases and pests of home bamboo

Bamboo diseases are associated only with improper care. Spotting and “rust” may appear on its stems and leaves. This means that the plant is affected by a fungal disease. It is necessary to treat diseased bamboo with fungicides and establish proper care, as well as regular ventilation.

Bamboo is not too prone to pest damage, but if not properly cared for, it can suffer from spider mites and aphids. If insects are found, you need to remove them with a soapy sponge. If some part of the stem is already affected, it is necessary to cut it off and treat the remaining healthy parts of the plant with an insecticide. Prevention of pest attacks is the correct watering regime and regular inspection of the plant.

As you can see, such an exotic plant as bamboo is not so difficult to “tame”. The most important thing is to choose the right type, understand the intricacies of care and provide the plant with conditions close to natural.

Have you already tried growing your own bamboo grove in a pot? What difficulties did you encounter?