A “Living stick”, is a culm of running bamboo that has had its root system altered in a way that prevents it from producing additional rhizomes or shoots. Living sticks will never grow into a grove. They won’t produce a hedge or screen. It will for the rest of its potential 7 to 10 year…
Bamboo Leaf Tea
Bamboo leaf tea has been consumed in China and India for centuries. It’s said at least since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) in China. Bamboo is well known for it’s benefits for hair, skin, and nails. This is due to the silica content in the leaves. Horsetail, or Equisetum, is the plant most often used…
Bamboo Barrier Installation
Installing a bamboo barrier properly is important to its successful control. When possible we always recommend natural containment methods. • Mowing a swath of lawn 25′ to 30′ or more around all sides of the bamboo grove. • Edging around the grove with a flat blade spade in a pattern of overlapping cuts all the…
Mason Bee Houses
Click here to go back to the Mason Bee House sales page. Or continue reading below to learn about our Mason Bee Houses and Emergence Boxes. As native bee populations fall every home gardener can do their part to help out these valuable pollinators. Here at the bamboo nursery we also have fruit trees for…
Bamboo Species Often Overlooked
There are some bamboo species that are often overlooked. It’s unfortunate because they have a lot of good qualities. Species in the genera Sasa, Pseudosasa, Pleioblastus, Indocalamus, and Hibanobambusa are frequently overlooked by zone 5 gardeners because these species do die back to the ground each winter here. This means that they grow much like…
Canebrakes
by David Rogers CANEBRAKES – stands of our American native bamboo species, have enjoyed a long history on our North American continent. The River Cane was utilized by Native Americans in their construction of weather-proof wattle and daub housing, basketry, floor mats, arrow shafts, blowguns, minnow traps, flutes, torches, and more spanning a period of…
Planting Bamboo
Planting Bamboo, by Country What Not Gardens – Cold Hardy Bamboo It’s a good idea to wear heavy leather work gloves when unpotting and planting bamboo. The feeder roots can be wiry and can jab your hands. Refer to the following information regarding choosing a planting site with the correct light for the genus you…
The Science of Cold Hardiness
As the old saying goes, if we didn’t have weather what would we talk about? A customer asked me if his bamboo would “ever be perennial.” Well, bamboo is always a perennial. It comes back year after year from the previous season’s growth (roots). That’s what a perennial is. Specifically what he meant was, would…
Understanding “Running” Bamboo
Most temperate bamboos have the root system that is classified as “running.” This means that they have long roots that lay shallow and horizontally under the soil. These roots are called rhizomes. Rhizomes grow just like the culms. They have the same nodes and reach full length in only a few weeks during summer and…