MIDNIGHT GARDENING: BAMBOO

Once again, I find myself hanging out in the garden late at night, this time to plant some new Phyllostachys aureus, better known as Golden Bamboo. About a year ago, I attempted to grow some black bamboo but no luck. It quickly died. I later learned that black bamboo prefers a cooler climate so maybe it's just as well. But since a huge tree growing next door has just been cut down, (see previous entry for the gory details) we've now got a plain view of some not-so-visually-pleasing playground equipment in the pre-school next door.  So I thought I'd give it another try. I ordered Golden Bamboo rhizomes (underground stem) from a great plant seller on eBay. Here goes Bamboo Scene, Take Two!

 Always excited to see a package in the mail. Trust me, I didn't fake my look of giddy delight. 

I couldn't wait to open my package of 10 bamboo rhizomes and get them in the ground.

Inside the package was a bagged tangle mess of bamboo goodness. Since I don't have 

any experience with bamboo I was a bit clueless as to where to begin.

I read somewhere that rhizomes should be soaked in water before planting and on top 

of that, these smelled like death, being in a sealed, moist package for several days 

so I figured a good soak could only help.

Here's an up-close and personal view of one of the root-riddled rhizomes. It looks healthy 

enough, I guess. Again, I really don't know anything about bamboo so I'm winging it.

I don't have much unpaved garden space left so I planted the bamboo in pots. These ones
are probably way too small for bamboo so I'll pot them up once they start growing a bit.
For now, I trimmed the excessive roots off to make them fit in the pots.

Bamboo loves lots of water so I gave these a good soaking.

Some of the rhizomes already have shoots so I got a preview of future attractions. 

Golden bamboo grows up to around 30 feet and is supposed to be one of the best 

bamboos for creating a beautiful, lush barrier wall. I can't wait!