I built this little birdhouse using Moso bamboo and piece of copper sheeting. You can use any bamboo that’s large enough in diameter. Some other choices would be Vivax or Japanese Timber bamboo. This birdhouse is about 5 inches in diameter. The hole is 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The dowel at top projects [...]
Archive for the ‘Bamboo Basics’ Category
Bamboo Birdhouse
Sunday, December 30th, 2012Large Size Bamboo Plants
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012We have several species of bamboo available in large field specimen size, balled and burlaped. These average 12 to 15 feet in heigth (or taller) depending on the species. These plants can provide a screen in as little as one season depending on plant spacing. Full size bamboo plants have become quite popular over the [...]
All About Bamboo
Sunday, September 18th, 2011Bamboo is different - I answer questions daily about bamboo, most require a little primer on bamboo before the question can be answered. So here goes- Bamboo grows very differently from most plants. You may have noticed that bamboo comes in clumps or groves. It is sometimes called a “colony” plant. The two basic types [...]
FAQ
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011How do you identify bamboo? There are a number of ways to ID different bamboos but one of the best is by looking at their shoots. With most plants a positive ID is made by looking at their flowers. Since bamboo flowers so infrequently this is not practical. The vast majority of the bamboos I [...]
Running bamboo and clumping bamboo
Friday, April 8th, 2011Runners and clumpers. I get a lot of email asking for a clumping bamboo. Here in zone 7, runners are about all we can grow. I’ve been searching for a clumper that will do well in zone 7 but haven’t had any luck so far. I’ve got a couple that have barely survived, but that’s [...]
Bamboo Growth Cycle
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011Bamboo produces new shoots in the spring that will become new canes (culms). A significant percentage of new shoots won’t make it. They will get a few inches tall and stop growing. The new bamboo canes will grow for a couple of months until they reach their maximum heigth and diameter. This means a cane [...]
Controlling running bamboo
Friday, April 8th, 2011There are many types of bamboo but in general they can be divided into either clumpers or runners. The clumpers are non-invasive. The vast majority of clumpers are sub-tropical or tropical, althought there are a few that are extremely cold hardy, most of those can’t handle the heat in the southeast. Because of this, all [...]
Go Green with bamboo
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011Bamboo has been a central part of many cultures throughout history. This is especially true in Asian countries. Chinese farmers may have lived in bamboo houses, sat in bamboo chairs, and eaten food stored and prepared in bamboo containers. They would have used bamboo mats for flooring, beds, and covers. Sandals would have been made [...]
Growing bamboo organically
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011Growing Organically I’ve been an advocate of organic gardening since 1971 when I read a book titled “Malabar Farm“. I subscribed to “Organic Gardening” and when we moved to our farm the first thing I did was plant a huge garden using all natural fertilizer and pest control. This became not just a practical method [...]