Ziergräser - Bambus Standardsorte

Season Overview

Description

Bamboo belongs to the sweet grass family (Poaceae) and is related to cereals such as wheat, oats, rice and maize, but also to grasses. Accordingly, it is also referred to as a "bamboo stalk" - even if it is over 20 meters high, as bamboo sometimes grows as tall as a tree in our latitudes. The variety of bamboo species is huge. There are 47 species with more than 1,000 varieties. A distinction is made between four groups: Dwarf bamboo (up to 1.5 meters high), small bamboo (1.5 to 3 meters), medium bamboo (3 to 9 meters) and giant bamboo (over 9 meters). The tropical genus Gigantochloa belongs to the group with the largest bamboos: its species form culms up to 40 meters high! Of the taller, thick-stemmed bamboo species, the genus Phyllostachys is the most important in Central Europe. The plants usually bear the German name Flachrohrbambus because their culms are flattened on one side. This distinguishes them from the umbrella bamboo (Fargesia), Arundinaria and Sasa genera, which are also often used in garden design. The true bamboo (Bambusa) is not sufficiently hardy in our latitudes, and in East Asia, the main area of distribution of most species, bamboo is so important that it can justifiably be described as having shaped the culture. It is not only used to make roof trusses and scaffolding, but also furniture, fences, water pipes, floor coverings, vessels, ropes, clothing and chopsticks. Its young shoots are also an important foodstuff. The botanical name "bamboo" has only existed since 1753 and was derived from the Indian word "mambu" by the Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné. Fast-growing species of flat-leaved bamboo such as Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens can reach heights of up to ten meters and a culm diameter of seven centimetres in Central Europe - all within one season! Unlike trees and shrubs, each stalk grows to its final height in the year of budding and then remains unchanged for several years. However, this does not happen overnight: the plants only form their longest and strongest culms after 15 to 20 years. Bamboo not only grows rapidly upwards, but also in width. The rhizomes of many bamboo plants spread underground. If you are not careful, a bamboo hedge originally planted as a privacy screen can turn into a whole bamboo grove in no time at all! As beautiful as the plant may be, it is questionable whether the neighbors share the love. Therefore, when planting most types of bamboo, a stable rhizome barrier should be ensured. Exception: umbrella bamboo forms such short stolons that the plant retains its horst-like growth character well into old age. The stems of the giant grasses are hollow on the inside and can reach a diameter of up to 30 centimetres in tropical species. In our latitudes, however, they rarely grow more than five centimetres thick. The regularly arranged, bulging rings (nodes) divide the stems into individual segments (internodes). The flat nodes are used for stabilization. If you only know bamboo in its processed form, you might think that the surface of the culms is varnished. This is a fallacy: Bamboo naturally has this weatherproof and waterproof protective layer, which even protects it from fire and many chemicals. Flat cane bamboos are evergreen, have lanceolate, light green leaves on short side shoots and, depending on the species and variety - around 20 are available in Germany - have green, yellow, black or yellow-green patterned culms. Some species also turn their culms a rusty red when exposed to strong sunlight. Bamboo culms are small works of art created by nature and dance with the slightest breeze, giving them a delicate, light and airy appearance despite their size. The bamboo flower is still a phenomenon today: umbrella bamboos only flower every 70 years or so and then die off. Runner-forming species such as Phyllostachys usually flower at somewhat shorter intervals and have a much better chance of survival. One disadvantage of Phyllostachys species is their strong urge to spread: they form woody rhizomes just below the soil surface in all directions, from which new stems sprout at regular intervals. In this way, they can conquer several square meters within a few years if they are not prevented from doing so with strong rhizome barriers made of high-strength plastic.

Growing tips

The various types of bamboo do not require any special care. Like most sweet grasses, they have quite high potassium and nitrogen requirements. You should therefore fertilize your bamboo every spring with a special bamboo fertilizer. Alternatively, you can simply use slow-release lawn fertilizer - it is well suited to the requirements of grasses. If you want to fertilize purely organically, it is best to apply mature compost that has been enriched with a few handfuls of horn shavings. On soils low in potassium, you can give your bamboo a commercial lawn autumn fertilizer in August. This will make the leaves more resistant to frost damage. Timely watering is important in dry weather, both in summer and winter, as many bamboo species quickly shed large amounts of foliage in dry conditions. However, the plants will regenerate as soon as the water supply improves.

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Moist

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Medium

Light germinator

Germination temperature

20 - 25 °C (Degrees Celsius)

Plant distance

100 cm

Row spacing

100 cm

Seeding depth

0.5 cm