After some good rain and some higher daytime temperatures in the Sacramento area, the running bamboo is finally starting to shoot. Running bamboo typically begins to shoot in the late Winter through the Spring.
Of course knowing this, this is when I rustle through my bamboo selection in the search for new shoots, like a kid in a candy store. Running bamboo when it shoots offers unique textures and colors; and on top of that, extraordinary vertical growth as the culms shoot to the sky. Warms my Bamboo Geek heart to see bamboo shooting. It's one of the things I look forward to seeing and its one of my signs that Spring is really not that far away.
Above is a photo of what I discovered today, 6-7 new culms on my Phylostachys edulis 'Moso', a giant timber variety, one of the largest bamboos in the world. It can reach a maximum height of 75 feet with 7 inch diameter culms. They build with Moso canes in China, it's that big.
Enjoy the weather and look out for those emerging bamboo shoots!
Cheers!
Sean
Mad Man Bamboo
(916) 300-6335
www.madmanbamboo.com
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Twitter: @madmanbamboo
3 comments:
Now I'm going to have to check for 'Rufa' shoots in the morning. It's a week too early, but it's somehow very important to see the shoots at their first emergence.
There's nothing else like bamboo shooting season. =)
Sigh... we had an inch and a half of wet snow last night; it'll be a little while still here before boo season gets under way. On the other hand, it's interesting to see my young yellow groove, only about 8 feet tall, bend nearly to the ground under the snow weight; but by the time I returned home from work (temps in the 40's) it's back up standing proud.
Alan - Yes, I find alot of fun in predicting the first running bamboo to shoot.
Jason - My parents live in Grass Valley, CA and get a fair amount of snow for CA. They observe the same situation, squished down by snow, then it melts and then pops back up. Pretty amazing for a plant.
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