After this great discovery Blake and I started finding places that sell the bamboo. We found many to be way over priced. As we live on the south side of Brisbane we went to the closest place and bought our first 2 bamboos from there and never went back. We started buying a few at a time via Bamboo Land. The people at Bamboo Land are really lovely and very helpful. http://www.bambooland.com.au We had our next lot of bamboo trucked down to us.
What we started with only a couple of years ago was a China Gold
The China Gold grows to 6m high and up to 4cm columns The origin was China and it can handle temps as low as -9 degrees.
This was taken in November 2009
Again November 2009
This is Oct 2010
The top foliage is huge and you can't really see through the plant to next door, great colourful screening.
Then we also bought our first black bamboo. No I'm not being racist, it is actually the colour of Black. Just like there are black sheep, but our kids aren't allowed to sing baa baa black sheep anymore. Us Australian have gone soft.
Anyways back on topic. We also bought a Timor Black ( Bambusa Lako)
Then we also bought our first black bamboo. No I'm not being racist, it is actually the colour of Black. Just like there are black sheep, but our kids aren't allowed to sing baa baa black sheep anymore. Us Australian have gone soft.
Anyways back on topic. We also bought a Timor Black ( Bambusa Lako)
This is a great looking bamboo and looks great next to the China Gold. Timor Black's origin is Indonesia It can grow to a height of 20m and the columns can be up to 10cm, it can't withstand very cold climates if you live in an area that doesn't go below -3 degrees you should be right.
We have been able to start another plant from this one by digging up a couple of the columns with the roots and all. The Timor Black's take about a year to start to grow again using this method. So when you think that the plant is dead it normally comes back. Make sure you cut the columns off down to about 30cm long.
We have been able to start another plant from this one by digging up a couple of the columns with the roots and all. The Timor Black's take about a year to start to grow again using this method. So when you think that the plant is dead it normally comes back. Make sure you cut the columns off down to about 30cm long.
November 2009
Oct 2010
The next bamboo we bought is called Malay Dwarf Variegated (Bambusa Heterostachya Variegated) This is a great one to hedge and to make an area more private. Both Blake and I are used to being on land so it has been a new thing for us to be living somewhere that we can see our neighbors. We are very lucky as they are really good, but we are used to not being able to see anyone. Because of this we have been lining the whole property with bamboo. So far so good, we expect the the other side of our yard should be alot bushier this coming year.
We have put these down the side of part of our fence line where we have a patio and require not only privacy but also a wind break. This is a thick and soft looking bamboo. It is very easy to keep smaller and hedged. It is also easier to grow on from cuttings, not all bamboo's are as easy.
Nov 2009
Oct 2010
Oct 2010
As you can see they have grown alot and we can't wait to see the smaller gaps left filled in. We have some growing from cuttings at the moment so it should be interesting to see how they go.
You have to remember that the bamboo's when you buy them are only very small, normally a meter tall and only one little skinny shoot on them. maybe a couple of leaves. So for these plants to grow so much so quickly it's amazing. Very handle as well.
The next Bamboo that I am going to tell you about is called the Ghost Bamboo (Dendrocalamus Minor Var. Amoenus) As this bamboo grows larger it has large leaves and starts swaying and slightly drooping at the top like a cartoon ghost figure. It is fast growing like all bamboo's and gives a great amount of shade. We have it at the back of our shed to reduce the heat in summer afternoons.
The Ghost Bamboo's origin is China it is not an overly tall bamboo going to around 8m tall and the columns around 5cm, it also isn't a fan of the cold so if your place gets colder than -2 degrees you'll have to find another type of bamboo. There are plenty of different types of clumping bamboos, it's just a matter of finding what suits your area. Another interesting thing is, the further north in Queensland anyways you go the taller and thicker the bamboo seems to be.
You have to remember that the bamboo's when you buy them are only very small, normally a meter tall and only one little skinny shoot on them. maybe a couple of leaves. So for these plants to grow so much so quickly it's amazing. Very handle as well.
The next Bamboo that I am going to tell you about is called the Ghost Bamboo (Dendrocalamus Minor Var. Amoenus) As this bamboo grows larger it has large leaves and starts swaying and slightly drooping at the top like a cartoon ghost figure. It is fast growing like all bamboo's and gives a great amount of shade. We have it at the back of our shed to reduce the heat in summer afternoons.
The Ghost Bamboo's origin is China it is not an overly tall bamboo going to around 8m tall and the columns around 5cm, it also isn't a fan of the cold so if your place gets colder than -2 degrees you'll have to find another type of bamboo. There are plenty of different types of clumping bamboos, it's just a matter of finding what suits your area. Another interesting thing is, the further north in Queensland anyways you go the taller and thicker the bamboo seems to be.
Ghost Bamboo 1 years old
This Ghost Bamboo is 1 year old.
We have two of these out the back near out patio, this will then provide some protection not only under the patio in the middle of summer but it will grown and add shade to our house reducing the afternoon heat. The Ghost Bamboo has a white powdery type columns. It is a nice one to have if your need to block out neighbors that might be in a two story house.
The Green Ghost (Dendrocalamus Minor) is similar to the Ghost Bamboo. It is a little larger and the columns remain much tighter clumping. This is perfect for people who need to have a smaller base but would like the shade of a larger tree.
The Green Ghost grown to 12m and the columns are 8cm, this one can handle a little more cold down to -7 degrees, I am not sure of it's origin though. I would say as a guess it would be from China.
This is another one that we have at the back of our shed, we have one that is a couple of years old and another that we only have had for 6 months. We are looking forward to seeing what they so this year.
This is a bad picture as it is still coming out of the winter state, in the next couple of months it will green right up and look great. All bamboo is self mulching and requires very little maintenance. Which is great as we will rent this house out again at some point. It means that you can make sure that your tenant has privacy and also doesn't need to touch the garden. If they don't need to touch it then they won't, which in turn means that they aren't going to destroy it either.
or http://tiffany83watson.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/clumping-bamboo-thats-right-i-said-clumping/
or http://tiffany83watson.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/clumping-bamboo-thats-right-i-said-clumping/
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