skip to main content

Does very young bamboo look like grass, or am I fooling myself?

last year

last modified: last year

I dug up two culms of my bamboo some time ago (like last spring.) I cut them down to about an inch above ground and put them in an air prune box to grow them out and see if they took. They aren't growing anything that looks like bamboo, but each one has what looks like grass. I don't recognize the kind of grass from anywhere else on the property. It doesn't seem to spread away from the bamboo roots. I transplanted them into pots this spring and a few sprigs got separated. I put the sprigs back into the air prune box. They aren't spreading either, though they're getting a little taller. I'm trying to find out if these are going to become new groves of bamboo in time, or if I'm wasting my time on some kind of grass and need to dig new bamboo starts. I'll attach a picture or two. Let me know if I can help folks answer better with more or better pictures.

(I'd offer the botanical name, but I've lost it. It grows about 12- 16 feet tall. The stems are yellow. The fattest culms are about 1/3 the diameter of my wrist. It's growing in zone 6 in South West Missouri.)

Comments (4)

oldmobie
Original Author
last year
More picture. First, the bits that came off, back in an air prune box:

Then the roots/ stumps in their pots. (At least these will have value if it's grass. I hadn't known yet that black locust grows from root cuttings. I accidentally made two new ones.):
kudzu9
last year
I've grown over 100 species of bamboo, and I can reliably tell you that those are not bamboo. You probably had some grass seed from somewhere that maybe a bird dropped in the dirt and you were successful in growing that. If you are trying to grow bamboo from that grove, you need to dig out a large, rootball, preferably basketball size or larger, for which you would need a root pruning saw of some type, and a pickax and pry bar. If all you planted was a culm, or a culm with a small bit of attached rhizome, your chances of being successful are vanishingly small.

I can't tell what species that is, but it's a running bamboo and likely in the Phyllostachys genus.
oldmobie thanked kudzu9
Related Discussions
Am I setting myself up for disaster?
Q
Comments (2)
Thanks for the reply. I will go ahead and finalize the project and hope for the best. In hidsight I know I should have angled the walls but I guess I just wasn't thinking at the time. I am not even sure that the roots would damage the utility lines (water and electricity in conduit) if it got down to them so maybe I have nothing to worry about anyway. In any case the planter looks great so I will chance whatever risks I am taking since it doesn't sound like there is too much potential trouble. Thanks again for the input. Matt
...See More
What kind of fool am I?
Q
Comments (21)
I think the important thing is not to put too much flesh on your garden bones too early in the process of trying to understand it. I think that you have to remain conservative at first and build in the essence or mainframe and keep looking and looking and looking and reading until you see your own vision. I can now feel my own vision starting to take shape. As an example, I thought that I just had to have a stone lantern, but since they are very expensive I put it off until now I no longer think that I want one because the sight of one now is becoming to cliché and they are not an icon of my culture. I also want a teahouse but not a literal one. I want the reason and essence of the teahouse, modified to my Missouri esthetics - it will now be a BBQ shack in the spirit of meal taking with my family and friends as opposed to tea taking. It will have the same basic backbone and shapes sans the overemphasized and upturned corners, with a large overhang, and will be completely screened from Missouris mosquito. And I would like to figure out a low table that middle-aged Americans can sit around without going into spasms. I want to understand stone placement and large plantings en mass for balance with the final goal being a truly pleasing "Missouri" garden that a Japanese master gardener can recognize and appreciate as authentic to the spirit of the Japanese style which I believe is just one manifestation of a more universal truth. I have come to the realization that I want no "overt" Japanese notes. There will be few human structures such as a teahouse and gate, but they will morph into a modified western version similar to American Arts and Crafts in style. I think authenticity should be in mainframe and not necessarily the accoutrements. If one centers on the accoutrements then you may wind up unhappily chasing authenticity
...See More
I am very upset with my 3rd lawn service
Q
Comments (5)
Hi there! Some suggestions: 1- Use an edger - landscape timber, small fencing, rocks, bricks, anything that visually ends the lawn area. Bricks and rocks will keep that lawn mower away from the area especially well. :) 2- Extend the bed a couple of inches past the farthest branch on your trees/bushes. Take all the grass out of the bed and then mulch the area completely. We rake all the fallen leaves unto the beds for mulch and to create a visual separation from the lawn. If you don't get enough fallen leaves, ask a neighbor to keep their leaves for you. 3- Keep the area under and around the bushes/trees as weed free as possible so they do not go after it with the weed whacker. The mulch will help with this very effectively. It is difficult for me to weed so I mulch instead. Hope this helps, Sybelle
...See More
Help me remember an important name before I make a fool out of myself
Q
Comments (38)
This thread has been very useful for me...I have a very good memory, but for some reason names are gone almost immediately after the person tells me... I truly believe that it's a "thing"....something is missing in my brain :) Also...my husband can't understand that I have a bad sense of direction. For example, when I'm leaving somewhere, I don't know whether to make a left turn or a right turn to go back the way I came... I think the two things might be related somehow... Anyway...I'll keep trying. And maybe give up hoping that paper name tags become mandatory...
...See More
oldmobie
Original Author
last year
Good to know. I'll start treating them like black locust seedlings that need the grass pulled out.

I have a meadow creature broadfork and a pick. I need to buy an axe. I have saws, but I don't know a root pruning saw. (Is it specialized, or just a handsaw you don't mind dulling on rocks, dirt and bamboo roots?) I'll try to gather new starts.
kudzu9
last year
This is a root pruning saw: Saw

You need to be able to penetrate the ground, which you couldn't do with a handsaw. Alternatively, a battery powered Sawzall would help. You can't just dig out a rootball with a shovel. You need to be able to cut all around in a circle to sever the woody rhizomes and then use a pickax and/or pry bar to pop the rootball out of the ground. Bashing away with an ax is not ideal and can lead to a lot of damage to the rootball. You want to get it out as intact and undisturbed as possible, with as much dirt retained as you can.
oldmobie thanked kudzu9

Sign Up to Comment

Related Stories

FEEL-GOOD HOME 12 Very Useful Things I've Learned From Designers

By Becky Harris

These simple ideas can make life at home more efficient and enjoyable

FUN HOUZZ Everything I Need to Know About Decorating I Learned from Downton Abbey

Mind your manors with these 10 decorating tips from the PBS series, returning on January 5

GREEN DECORATING Bamboo Products — Earth Friend or Foe?

By Julia Pockett

The ecofriendliness of this grass for flooring, wall coverings and furniture isn't cut and dried. Get the facts here

KITCHEN STORAGE Kitchen of the Week: Bamboo Cabinets Hide Impressive Storage

By Carol Crotta

This serene kitchen opens up to reveal well-organized storage areas for a family that likes to cook and entertain

LIFE Houzz Call: What Makes Your House Feel Like Home?

By Amber Hopman

Sometimes just one thing gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling. Let us know what it is for you

COMMUNITY Good Neighbors Make Her Street Feel More Like Home

By Shana Levy McCracken

A local historian, a burglary stopper and the world’s greatest grandparents have enriched this writer’s life

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: Bamboo Gardens Inspire a Serene California Home

By Becky Harris

Organic materials, garden views and clean lines create calm and harmonious interiors for a Pacific Palisades family

MOST POPULAR When Does a House Become a Home?

By Laura Gaskill

Getting settled can take more than arranging all your stuff. Discover how to make a real connection with where you live

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Small Garden? You Can Still Do Bamboo

By Matt Kilburn

Forget luck. Having bamboo that thrives on a wee plot just takes planning, picking the right variety, and keeping runners in check

GARDENING GUIDES How I Learned to Be an Imperfect Gardener

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Letting go can lead to a deeper level of gardening and a richer relationship with the landscape. Here's how one nature lover did it

Sponsored

More Discussions

Bamboo barrier installation-fully enclosed or open sided barrier?

1