The color of bamboo (dried) is tan or beige.  In order to get the color you see here I treated the bamboo with flame.  Start with green bamboo (dried bamboo usually burns or chars instead of turning black).  I use a small propane torch and play the flame slowly over a small section of the bamboo.  You should drill a hole for the dowel or the opening first as the heat from the torch may cause the bamboo to split (violently!) wit a bang.  As you slowly play the flame over the green bamboo it will start getting black/dark brown.  Once you have a small area blackened move the torch slightly and the blackening will progress faster as the bamboo has already heated up.  Once I’ve done a few square inches I take a cloth rag and wipe the oils off that are extruded by the heat.

Birmingham Zoo

Over the years our local zoo has improved dramatically and now is a first class attraction and animal habitat.  The new elephant area is quite large with lots of trees and areas for the elephants to roam.  We were excited to have the chance to see the zoo up close and behind the scenes.  We toured most of the zoo and I was amazed at all the bamboo!  I last visited the zoo about 15 years ago and at the time there were many new plantings of bamboo but all were new and fairly small.  They have grown and spread dramatically giving the zoo lots of greenery and a very tropical feel.  Some of the species we identified were Robert Young, David Bisset, Arundinaria gigantea, Arrow Bamboo, Palmata, Black bamboo, and a couple we were unable to ID.  By far the vast majority of bamboo groves consisted of David Bisset bamboo.

David Bisset Bamboo near the reptile house.

Work was still going on at the Elephant Habitat and the zoo was looking for ideas on what would be best for the area.  I felt the area needed something dramatic and what could be better than Moso bamboo?  While I keep a large stock of shipping size plants none of us wanted to wait several years for it to reach a large size.  This was in the spring with bamboo is shooting so it was not the ideal time to dig large, specimen size plants.  Construction would be complete by summers end and fall is anideal time to transplant.  We agreed to meet in the fall.  The zoo wants to purchase some Moso and we offered to donate at least as much as they purchased.

Robert Young Bamboo outside the reptile house.

A few weeks after our visit I received a call from staff at the reptile house.  The Komodo dragon area was in need of some plants.  This habitat is large room with skylights and an earth floor.  (I didn’t even know the zoo had a Komodo dragon!)  I offered staff members a tour of our nursery and plantings where they could choose the bamboo that seemed best.

Komodo Dragon at the Birmingham Zoo

After the visit we decided that Arrow bamboo would work best due to the lower light levels and height restrictions. This summer the zoo purchased a number of plants and Jmbamboo donated more bamboo.  The people at Southern Land Management have done a number of commercial installations for me in the past and they agreed to donate their time and install the bamboo at the zoo.  We planted a large number of large, balled and burlaped Arrow bamboo plants in the Komodo dragon house and they seem to be thriving.

Arrow Bamboo in the Komodo dragon habitat

The Komodo dragon habitat with Arrow Bamboo.

We’ve enjoyed our experiences with the zoo and look forward to working with them in the future.  They have some remarkable bamboo groves and we hope to add to this with more variety.  The greenery and shade help give the animals privacy and more of a wild feeling.  My children and grandchildren love the zoo – and you will too!

Arrow Bamboo (P. japonica) – Our most popular screening bamboo, it will get 15 to 18 feet tall and form a dense screen with leaves from near the ground up.  The canes of Arrow bamboo grow very dense, only inches apart forming a screen that is almost impenetrable providing total privacy.  It is cold hardy and will stay green and leafy down to about 0 F.  It can be pruned down to 8 or 10 feet and will grow even more dense.
8 to 12 feet tall, approx. 12 inch rootball – $45
10 to 15 feet tall, approx. 18 inch rootball – $55

Golden Bamboo (P. aurea) -  With canes 25 to 35 feet tall, this bamboo is one of the fastest growing and spreading bamboos.  It has limbs low to the ground and forms a dense screen with canes up to 2 inches in diameter.  It is cold hardy to about zero F.  This bamboo is often called Fishpole bamboo as it makes a great fishing pole with a natural handhold at the base of the canes.  This one can be pruned quite low also and again, it will only grow more dense.
8 to 12 feet tall, approx. 12 inch rootball – $45
10 to 18 feet tall, approx. 18 inch rootball – $55

Red Margin Bamboo (P. rubromarginata) - Canes can grow up to 50 feet tall but 30 to 40 is more common.  It forms a dense screen quickly.  Research on growing bamboo for pulp production found this bamboo to be the fastest growing of any species tested.  Dark green leaves and canes, it is ideal for a very tall screen but can also be pruned to a shorter height.
8 to 12 feet tall, approx. 12 inch rootball – $45
10 to 18 feet tall, approx. 18 inch rootball – $55

We stock these and others in the sizes listed and can also dig to order with a few weeks lead time.  Along with these popular screening bamboos we have a limited selection of many other species including several of the giant species.  These are available as ball and bulaped plants with rootballs from 12 inches up to 24 inches, 15 to 25 feet tall.  Prices available on request.

These bamboos are all running type bamboos and quickly fill between plants.  Clumping bamboos are not available as these are tropical for the most part.  We can advise on control of running bamboos.  We have supplied these large field specimen bamboos for a number of private and commercial jobs.  Below are some recent installations.

These large plants were used for screening at two nearby coal fired electric plants.  This was an innovative attempt to screen a very large ash pile.  To determine the fastest growing tall screen 6 different species were planted.  A total of 150 plants were installed.

Full size bamboo plants, ready for delivery.

These Black bamboo plants were for a private residence in Birmingham, Al.  The owner surrounded his home with 110 Black bamboo plants, 6 to 10 feet tall.  We installed these on a steep hillside and mulched heavily to hold the soil in place while the bamboo established a good root system.

Loading a trailer with 3 gallon black bamboo plants.

These Red Margin bamboo plants were delivered to a business in Atlanta.  They were used to screen a tall, unsightly industrial plant next to the customer’s business.  Planted on 12 inch centers they formed an immediate screen which will only grow taller and more dense over the next few years.  We installed these plants in a long trench with a root barrier completely surrounding the bamboo grove to control the spread.  Call me at 205-283-5638 to arrange purchase and delivery or pickup.  We deliver free within 35 miles of Birmingham or Jasper, Al.

85 large Red Margin bamboo plants.

New Coldframe

Small cold frame

Last year I built a small, energy efficient greenhouse to store many of our tropical plants in, as well as a place to place newly dug bamboo during cold dry periods during the winter.  Mickey and I didn’t like the looks of the greenhouse after it was completed,  it just sort ugly so I promised to take it down at the end of winter.  I thought we would just mulch the tropicals heavily as we’ve done in the past but I really wanted to protect some of the really big elephant ears and banana trees.  In the past I’ve waited until right before the first frost, cut off all the foilage, potted them up and placed in a cool greenhouse.  I’ll do the same this year but it will be a small cold frame, 6′ by 12′ and about 3′ tall at the peak.

  The cold frame is built into the ground.
This is where last years greenhouse was located.  This part of the plant holding area is terraced, dropping down 2 feet.  I built the walls from 4 x 4 timbers and 2 x 6 lumber.  The back wall is the north side and it has dirt piled up behind it.  This means the north and west walls are set 2 feet into the ground.  When I built the walls I placed foam insulation behind those two walls help the greenhouse retain heat.  I made a simple frame of 2 x 4 lumber for the south and east walls.  I put foil lined, foam insulation on the inside of the frame.  Two layers of 3/4 inch insulation with seams taped.  I placed one layer on the inside of the north and west walls to further insulate them.  The foam insulation, as well as the framing lumber were all salvaged from the greenhouse.

       The roof on the cold frame opens.
The top of the cold frame was constructed from 2 x 2 lumber.  I ripped the 2 x 4 boards on a table saw and screwed them together with deck screws.  I have the plastic to cover the frame but will wait until closer to our first frost.  I think I will cover the triangular ends with foam insulation.  I made the pitch different on the south and north sides of the peak.  This makes the south facing part to be larger.  It is simple to open by raising up the edge and putting a prop under it.    I hope that the reflective foil walls will help distribute what sunlight it does get.  I will try to use a couple of incandescent lights to keep the temperature above freezing.   Once the frame is filled with containers I’ll put in some leaves to help fill in and insulate the pots.  I only need room for about 40 containers so with 72 square feet of space I should have close to half of the cold frame space available.  I can use this as a short term storage for newly dug bamboo plants.
UPDATE
With our first frost due any time now we potted up about 50 elephant ears, gingers, and banana trees and placed them in the cold frame.  I cut off the leaves, leaving a few inches of stalk   I cut off the leaves, leaving a few inches of stalk.

Plants ready for winter

The north side of the cold frame is below ground level.  I placed another layer of foam insulation against this wall and placed enough fill dirt to bring the level up as high as possible.  I had some small elephant ears left from last year that never got planted so I buried them in the fill dirt, maybe they will sprout in the spring.  I buried the edge of the plastic that draped down over the seam between the top and side to help seal it against cold air.

Front of cold frame (south side)

The cold frame is closed and well sealed.  Notice the grove of bamboo behind it.  This is P. vivax aureocaulis, often called Green Stripe Vivax bamboo.

Giant Running Bamboo

Clumping Bamboo stays in a nice, tight clump.

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 of bamboo are runners and clumpers and there are hundreds of each in all sizes and colors.  Most (not all) clumpers are sub-tropical to tropical and most (but not all) runners are cold hardy.  I grow cold hardy runners.

How bamboo grows-  The plants I sell are divisions from a grove of bamboo.   The bamboo grove has an underground system of rhizomes that cover an area like a net, just a few inches below the ground.  I dig a piece of rhizome that has a small cane growing from it.  When this “division” is planted it’s canes will not grow but the rhizome will start spreading underground, branching and growing many feet the first year in late summer and fall.  In the spring the buds on the underground rhizomes come up and grow into new canes in a matter of weeks.  With a new division of bamboo the new cane will be about the same size as the old ones.  They will get full size in the spring or early summer.  As the grove gets more canes (each cane lives for several years) with more leaves it puts up more and bigger canes (called culms) each spring and in just a few years, with a little care the bamboo will be putting up giant canes, several inches in diameter and 50 to 60 feet tall.  They will come out of the ground and grow to full size in the spring and never grow any taller.  This is why bamboo is called the fastest growing plant in the world.  The largest cold hardy bamboo is called Moso and it can get up to 7 inches in diameter and 70+ feet tall.  Pretty amazing plant.

How bamboo spreads – After the new shoots come up in the spring and grow into mature canes the entire grove is thriving and feeding the rhizome system which stores the nutrients and will use them for the next years canes.  In late summer and fall the rhizomes start growing and can extend from a few feet to 30 feet or more depending on the species and enviromental conditions.  A well cared for bamboo grove will about double in size most years so it will cover a large area quickly, if not controlled.

Bamboo is different! – Many plants play a crucial role in different societies.  Bamboo has literally been a matter of life and death in many cultures, both east and west, for thousands of years and there are countless examples of bamboo uses.

Can I grow this amazing bamboo plant? – In most cases, yes you can.  There are thousands of bamboos that grow in tropical and sub-tropical conditions and hundreds of cold hardy bamboos, some of which can survive temperatures down to -20 F.  Not just survive but stay green and leafy down to twenty below zero.(F)

You can grow bamboo – and make amazing things from your own bamboo.  You can also eat it! Red Margin bamboo will grow from Orlando to Boston and makes fantastic flutes, digeridoos, walking sticks, fishing poles, and a whole lot more.  Yellow Groove bamboo is even more cold hardy (and gets big in the south) and will make a dense privacy screen.  Arrow bamboo will make an even better screen, just the right size to provide privacy for your backyard.

When I got serious about collecting bamboo there was a time when I planted many species each year, often in multiple locations.  I wanted lots of bamboo fast.  I live near a horse farm.  I was able to get free manure (mixed with straw) and placed a 2 to 4 inches of this around each planting, usually 3 to 4 feet in diameter the first year.  I might add some artificial fertilizer such as 8-8-8 spread over the area. I would cover this with straw or leaves or whatever was available.  When fall came I raked up a very deep mulch around each planting, at least a foot or more of leaves in a 5 to 10 foot circle.  If planting a fence row I fertilize and mulch in a long row connecting the new bamboo plantings, however thick I wanted the screen to be.
The newly planted bamboo will start sending out rhizomes which will divide and spread so the bamboo is eventually going in all directions.  However it may spread much faster in some directions.  You may be able to control the spread somewhat by fertilizing in the directions you want the bamboo to go, as when planting a row of bamboos for screening.
In the winter/spring of the following year I would spread manure again, this time in about a ten foot circle with a new layer of leaves or straw and would follow this procedure for at least a couple of years, often 3 to 4 years.  I did this for most of nearly a hundred plantings spread over several years and acres.  I could drive my truck up to or even around most all the groves, especially when they were young so it was fairly easy to spread the manure with a shovel.  After 2 to 3 years I usually stopped with the manure but continued with 8-8-8 or even ammonia nitrate.  I also continured to rake up leaves for a mulch but it doesn’t take too long for most bamboos to self mulch.  Soil ph should be neutral to very slightly acidic for most bamboos.  Lime acordingly.
When I was following these procedures I was giving bamboo to my brother and sister who also had land to plant it on.  They planted and watered and that’s it.  After 5 years all my groves of the same species were at  a minimum twice the size, usually even larger. Many more canes, much larger canes.  I think at a minimum you should mulch heavily with leaves for a few years.  It will cut down on weeds while the plants are small, protect the plants in the winter by insulating the ground, and as they decompose they will build rich soil.  The mulch will also help keep in moisture during hot periods.  When the groves were young and the manure and mulch were thick, the soil below was just alive with worms and was damp in the hottest periods.  The mulch and manure together decompose fairly rapidly.
My largest grove of bamboo, in the most choice location is Moso bamboo, the largest cold hardy bamboo.  I drove to Anderson,South Carolina to dig 5 nice plants to start the grove.  I planted these in a circle and spread a truck load of manure. I did this for the next few years and the Moso responded accordingly.  It grew deep green and put up more shoots than I expected each spring.  Today this grove has beautiful 5 and 6 inch canes that cover an area 50 feet in diameter.
I’ve seen this over and over.  I planted P.vivax, the next largest cold hardy bamboo and gave it this treatment.  In less than 10 years I had multiple 5 inch canes, like a small forest.  I planted P. vivax aureocaulis in an odd place that never got the manure and mulch.  The difference today is amazing. The Green Stripe Vivax has a few 4 inch canes, most are smaller.

Look for the rings on the bamboo.
Most bamboo culms I harvest for use are Moso.  Over the years I’ve observed my grove closely, marking many canes to keep

First Year Cane

up with their age.  I still spend a lot of time eyeballing some of the canes in my Moso groove.  One of the best indicators of age is the ring around the node. Moso, and many other species have a white, powdery ring at each node.  Over time this darkens.  On a Moso cane that is about one year old or less it will be quite white.  A two year old cane will have gray rings, still somewhat new looking.  Three year and older canes will have dark, almost black rings.  As the canes age they take on an older look.  After five years or so there will be a good deal of discoloration from moss or mildew.  The canes will have an older look.  Eventually there will only be foilage at the very top with dead limbs down lower. After 8 to 10 years the canes will be start dying and you may notice part of a cane has turned brown.Some canes do not have a white ring.  I try

Second Year Cane

to look at a lot of canes, comparing them to see which has an “older” look.  Part of it is the discoloration the cane goes through over time, part of it is the moss or mildew growing on the canes.  You can usually spot the newest canes, always green and new looking.  Then you can spot the ones that are close to a couple of years old.  They too stand out just a little too.  They may be mottled in look now but still newer looking than many other canes.  Anything older looking than these first too year canes will do fine.  I try to go fo a cane that looks fairly old compared to most other canes that still has it’s leaves and no dead limbs.

The best time to harvest bamboocanes is early to mid-summer after new canes have matured and leafed out.  Much of the starch in bamboo will now be in the new canes.  This makes the older canes less susceptible to insect damage and rot.  Leave the canes upright with all their leaves and allow them to dry for a few days. Cut canes to a length you can use and store upright in a

Third Year Cane

covered or indoor area. Canes will take from several weeks to several months to dry, depending on climate and interior conditions.  As the bamboo drys it takes on a tan or “camel” color, very even all over.  With some of the bamboos such as Bory or Robert Young you can still see the spots or stripes as slightly darker browns. Black bamboo will usually dry to a black color but may be somewhat gray or mostly gray.

What species should you use?  Well of coure it depends on what you can get. Most commercial bamboo canes are Moso or Tonkin Cane.  You can find bamboo in many places and most all of it can be used in some manner.  Most giant bamboos will work for fencing.  One of the most common bamboos, from California to Georgia is Golden bamboo, P. aurea.  It is ideal for furniture, fishing poles, and crafts.  Red Margin bamboo is also very common and makes a great construction and craft bamboo.

Notice the color of this older cane.  The green has about faded and it is becoming more yellow with a mottled look.  Compared to an newer bamboo cane this one just looks older.  It’s best to compare the canes in a grove, then it’s much easier to see the old or new look of the canes.

Older bamboo cane with mottled appearance.

What you will need -
A lenght of bamboo cane, about 2″ in diameter and 5 to 6 feet long.
A piece of steel rebar or threaded rod, 3 feet long.
A small piece of bee’s wax

Optional -
Propane torch
Fine sandpaper
Black shoe polish
I used a piece of Moso cane because it has a unique look with a base that flares out in diameter but any bamboo cane about 2″ in diameter will do.  I also blackened the bamboo which I will cover after the basic building instructions.  Cut your cane to about 5 feet long.  I have better luck with something about 6 inches shorter than that but start with 5′.  You change the key of the didgeridoo by changing the length.  I have no musical sense so I can’t tune mine, perhaps you can!  When first obtaining the bamboo, cut just above a node on the smaller end where the mouthpiece will be.  Then measure down toward the base and cut it to length at that end.
Construction

Use a hammer and something like a small bolt to break out the first couple of membranes in the cane.  Then use the rebar or threaded rod to knock out all the nodes.  You can ram the rod back and forth and go about half way in from each end.  Once the rod will go in and out easily use it to smooth and clean the inside of the cane, removing most all the membrane material.  The rough edges of the rebar or threaded rod act like a wood rasp and clean the membrane or node material. Once you get it fairly clean it’s time  to try out the sound.
The best way I can describe it is to put your lips on the small end, sort of like a trumpet.  I sort of make a “bronx cheer” sound that when done right makes the didgeridoo resonate with a nice sound.  If you can’t get a good sound, or even if you can, you need to install the mouth piece.  This makes it easier to play and sounds better.

Beeswax mouthpiece
Melt a little beeswax in a small pan or metal cup. Dip the mouth end of the didgeridoo into the hot wax, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.  Let it cool and dip again.  Do this several times until you have a ring of wax built up.  Let it cool a bit and then use your fingers to shape it into a nice rounded shape.  When you play the wax makes a good seal.  Once the wax warms up it will mold itself to your lips and makes it much easier to play.  It also forms a better seal in general.

Painting or varnishing
You can paint the didgeridoo or varnish it.  Bamboo has a natural waxy finish so you should sand with very fine sandpaper before painting or varnishing.  Clean thoroughly and dry well.  Of course I’m assuming you have a dry piece of bamboo.  If not you will need to dry the cane by standing it on it’s end indoors for several weeks to a few months.  It will turn a nice tan or camel color when dry.

Blackening the bamboo
As you can see in the pictures, this didgeridoo is black.  I used a torch to blacken the bamboo and it’s fairly easy to do.  You should start with bamboo that is still green or somewhat green.  Dry bamboo will scorch.   You MUST remove the interior membranes at all the nodes.  Heating bamboo that does not have these removed can explode.  Once the membranes have all been punctured you can heat the bamboo.  Use the torch to heat an area about 2 to 3 inches square.  It will first turn tan, move the torch around the area and then start re-heating.  The bamboo will darken more. Hold the heat until it is very dark brown, that is about as dark as you can get, almost black.  Heating too long, especially after it is dark brown, may burn the bamboo.  As you do each section and move on to another area, wipe the hot cane with a rag.  The heat brings waxes and oils to the surface and removing them helps cure the bamboo.  It took me about an hour to do the entire didgeridoo.  When finished I wiped it down with black shoe polish.  This darkened it just a little more and gave it just a little shine and nice feel.
Wait until you’ve heated the entire bamboo before adding the mouthpiece.