FIG. 13.—The timber bamboo as grown at the plant introduction garden, Savannah, Ga., providing a wonderful shade in summer and protection in winter
BAMBOO Groves Thrive in the United States
The timber bamboo is a giant grass native of the warmer temperate regions of China and Japan. It was first introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture 25 years ago. Previous introductions in a limited way had been made earlier by private agencies, but the records in these cases are not clear.
More than 400 species of bamboos have been reported throughout the world, but only 2 of these are native to the United States. They constitute the so-called canebrakes of our Southern States. There is probably no other group of plants so widely and generally used as this family of giant grasses. It is estimated that half a billion people are dependent on them in one way or another.
The timber bamboo in its young stage resembles many of our common grasses; the leaves are long and narrow and the canes or stalks are greenish, but quite hard. Like some grasses, the timber bamboo is provided with creeping underground stems or rhizomes which spread from the parent plant in all directions. New eyes or buds develop on these underground parts and these give rise to new plants. With each passing year the timber bamboo spreads and the stems and underground parts become larger and grow stronger. Age is a prerequisite for a successful timber-bamboo grove. It is not a quick crop like corn, wheat, and many other grasses. It is essentially a forestry crop. Eventually, when a grove is fully established, magnificent stems shoot up to a height of 60 to 70 feet, furnishing poles 4 to 5 inches in diameter at the base and tapering gradually to the tip, where they may be 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. The stems are hollow, but are divided by frequent cross partitions at the joints. The plants have the remarkable faculty of reaching their full size in a very short time, usually in two to four weeks, depending on the age of the parents. The new shoot suddenly bursts through the ground in the spring and then grows a foot or more a day. As the cane shoots skyward, the leaves, branches, and branchlets unfold, producing a most striking and beautiful effect. There is a majesty and grandeur to these plants that makes a strong appeal to the imagination. After attaining full size, the plants may require three to five years to fully harden and ripen.
Aside from the use of the timber bamboo as a beautiful evergreen ornamental, furnishing both grateful shade in summer and protection against cold, raw winds and storms in winter, it provides material for a multitude of uses on the farm and in the farm home; also in the marts of trade. Light fences, fence posts, trellises of many kinds, water-carrying pipes, baskets, crates, chicken coops, poultry yards and houses, and light ladders, all may easily be constructed from the mature canes. Commercial uses are also numerous, including furniture making, fish rods, phonograph needles, canes and poles for many uses in commerce, such as curtain and rug rods, flower stakes, tree props, fruit poles, and many other purposes.
-
The timber bamboo is adapted to a wide range in this country. It will thrive through practically all the Cotton States of the South and in the warmer moist, valleys of California and the Pacific Coast States. The largest and most successful grove (figs. 13 and 14) is located near Savannah, Ga., where it has survived the winters for more than 35 years. Away from the coast country, where temperatures fall as low as 10° or 15° F. it is likely to be injured by frost.
Bamboos are of such recent introduction into this country that as yet small plants of the timber species are not available in the trade. They can not be imported on account of the risk of introducing dangerous pests of various kinds. The department, in order to encourage the planting of groves, has been furnishing plants in a limited way for several years. The plants are furnished to cooperators who are willing to put out from one-eighth to 1 acre and to care for the groves until established. The timber bamboo can not be grown from seed; hence propagation must be carried on by means of the rhizomes. These are taken from young plants in spring and set in beds. By the following year the plants from the rhizomes have usually made a good growth. It is best, however, to leave them for a second year. They may then be transplanted to a small nursery and held another year, or set directly in the field 10 by 10 or 10 by 12 feet apart.
For the first two or three years the plants must be carefully tended and all weeds kept down by cultivation or hand hoeing. In good soil the plants soon begin to make runners and it is not long before the entire space is filled. The timber bamboo thrives best on well-drained deep soil. Good cotton or corn land should produce good bamboo. The crop should not be planted on wet, or overflowed lands.