1. The only part that is edible are the shoots when they first come up in spring.

2. To sell a viable plant, you will need to dig up a good size root ball -- basketball size or larger -- with the culms attached, replant it in a suitable sized pot, let it stabilize for 3-6 months to see whether it survives, and then sell it. Digging is hard work as the rhizome (root) mass is very tough and you will need saws, pruners, shovels, and steel demolition bars to pry it out of the ground. You will also need to determine whether the plants are healthy in the first place. It is very common to have stands of bamboo such as yours infected with bamboo mites, which causes the leaves to lose pigmentation and have little white blotches on them. This pest does not kill the bamboo, but gives the leaves an unsightly appearance, and it is hard to eradicate without a longterm spraying program using very expensive specialty chemicals. Knowledgeable bamboo buyers will not purchase such plants.

3. Your bamboo will be hollow, but have a hard membrane separating each node. Mass producers of bamboo poles often drill out the nodes or smash them out with a piece of rebar to help hasten the drying time; this is also hard work. Most poles that are mass-produced come from Asia where they dry them in smoky, open furnaces. It would take a number of months for yours to dry naturally. [By the way, while you may have bamboo that is 12" in circumference, I am unaware of any bamboo grown in the U.S. that is 12" in diameter.]

4. Bamboo culms can be cut with hand or power saws; just be aware that, unless you tape the cut area first, you will get strands of the tough, outer surface tearing away.

Donna and Joe-
I am also in NC and am wondering if you have been able to find anyone to sell the bamboo to? We also have recently purchsed property with about 3 acres of bamboo forest and would love to thin the forest and "cut it back" as it is beginning to invade our yard. . .would also hate to see it go to waste.

Thanks,
Jodie

I would LOVE to purchase some bamboo as long as it's hardy enough to withstand the winters in zone 7. I live in Morganton, NC (between Asheville and Charlotte).
Thanks,
Jennifer

Well, there are dozens and dozens of different bamboo species that are perfectly hardy in zone 7 NC! Be sure to give serious thought though about eventual containment, spreaders can be highly aggressive and invasive and are not good for smaller gardens or close to property lines (unless you use a rhizome barrier or are prepared to do annual root pruning). I love bamboo too and have many species (spreaders and clumpers)--just do some serious research before purchasing and planting.

you have me drooling! Would love to see a pic. I have never heard of 12" bamboo in this country

Okay....
I am SO SORRY for not responding to all the wonderful help here! I *thought* this forum was set to give me email updates but I guess not!

Still trying to figure out how this forum works for replying.

I have created a photobucket album if any of you can help me identify what we have and how to propagate it for sale.
Yes - it is very invasive - but makes such a beautiful evergreen forest/wall/fence - personally we LOVE it!

The runners will send up shoots even through the asphalt (there's a pic of that).

Someone told me that they dig/cut the roots - then keep them moist and priority mail them to people who want to buy/start with instructions. That is what we want to do - but are not sure this is the type that can be handled/transplanted that way. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Photobucket URL is below....
Thank you in advance for your help!

Here is a link that might be useful: PHOTOBUCKET for BAMBOO

Nice photos, but I can't tell from them as to what bamboo you have. Moso has small leaves, so it probably isn't Moso.

It looks like a runner, and it doesn't resemble Oldhamii at all, which is a clumper.

Photos of the newly emerging shoots can be very helpful. Does it have a groove on alternate sides of the internodes?

Kt

Kt.
Do you mean on the interior (after cut, down the inside) or exterior (on the outside of the shoot)?

The answer to that is - it seems so to me - a slight indentation (both inside [when cut] and exterior) with what looks like a 'grain' change (as if this were a wood grain - seems smoother, going in a different direction or something).

Does any of that make sense?
Am I looking at the right place?

I'll try to get some pics as soon as the shoots come up (they literally come up EVERYWHERE in cones - until about 3 feet high, then the leaves start to sprout out)
and
If it's sunny, I'll travel into the deep dark center of the bamboo forest and try to get some pics of the HUGE ones!

Thanks for the help!
Joe and Donna in NC

I may have confused you. On the mature culms, is there an indention on alternating sides of the culms all the way up to the top? The indention, or groove, will be above the area where the branches come out.

Are the culms rough to the touch when you slide your hand along the culm, or are they smoothe?

Kt

There does not appear to be any indention between the areas that the branches come out at all.

The texture of the mature stalk is VERY smooth, almost glass like.

They have no dent, mark, impression of any sort between the nodes (where branches come out) once they are mature - it's as smooth as can be all the way around with an almost plastic/pvc pipe glossy smoothness.

Thanks for being patient with me and clarifying!
(o:
Joe and Donna in NC

Okay...I have a very large area of Bamboo that a customer of mine wants removed. The area is approximately 450 feet long by 30 yards wide. It stands anywhere between 6 to 30 feet high. I heard that I can sell this bamboo...is this true? And, where can I sell? The project for removal will be in approximately 3-4 weeks from now.

Anyone have any ideas??

If you're in NJ - I'm just guessing because of your screen name - there's a bamboo farm called Little Acre Farm in Howell (Monmouth County). If you contact them perhaps they can give you some information. I have no connection with them; I was there a few years ago when I was thinking of using bamboo for some privacy in my yard.

Are you wanting to start a business selling live bamboo? Cut bamboo poles?

Or is the only option is to sell the removal rights to someone? I think your best bet is to search for bamboo farmers in your area, close by, to see if they wanted to harvest it. A long shot but they're the only ones I can think of who would have the know how and way of selling the product. I have no idea what kind of bamboo you have but you might not get much money, or any money, the harvester might even charge you. The savings would come from reduced removal cost.

The value isn't so much in the standing bamboo, it's in a product. Creating that product is a serious investment.

Nurseries may buy some poles, but removing the branches and driving the polls around will not make much money. Most bamboo poles are imported from Asia where labor is cheap.

I have bamboo that's been growing over 30 years some are over 35 feet!! At least 100 feet length 20 feet wide.

In addition to eating the new shoots, the leaves can be used to make tea. It's probably not much of a cash crop, but people sell it on amazon (mostly imported from Asia).

You can always sell it on Craigslist, and if your community has a local free rag (like pennysaver etc) it's cheap or free to advertise there. I saw an ad selling bamboo, it said something like "you dig up, $25, I dig up $50", ha ha ha!

I have very large small Grove of about 12 feet tall bamboo trees in my side yard still in ground . Want to sell these before I move. Anyone want to make an offer? These are healthy and nice but I have no idea on how to cut or dig them up. I'm in Hampstead NC.

Unfortunately, unless it's some highly desirable species, you are not likely to have much luck selling it. Most people don't know how to dig up bamboo efficiently, and trying to sell on a you-dig-it basis is not likely to attract much business. Many of the bamboo I have were from people who had let it get out of control and were happy that someone was willing to remove some of it for free.

Are there any bamboo farms in Alabama? Is Alabama a state that is marketable for bamboo?

Karenhassell1, I think that "Bamboo plantation" is in AL, either there or AR, I can't remember which.

I have Bamboo plantation in my country West Africa, I'm currently in Virgina beach i need a buyer or business partner i have all kinds of size, length and weight.

contact me for more details

@ samchiji3@gmal.com