Garden Talk

Bamboo

By Katherine Hale

Marketing & Communications Assistant

There’s nothing quite like strolling through a bamboo grove in late afternoon, a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves and dappled sunlight streaming through the canopy overhead. Perhaps the magic is due to the symmetry of so many identical and colorful culms rising out of the earth, or the evergreen four-season appeal. But whatever the source, this is an experience that people have enjoyed for thousands of years across cultures and continents, the subject of poetry and paintings alike.

Believe it or not, in spite of its arboreal appearance, bamboo is a grass, just like what’s underfoot in lawns and fields.  However, instead of being solid and woody like trees, the insides of bamboo are hollow between the solid nodes where the leaves emerge like grasses. The primary difference is that this tissue is hard and relatively inflexible in bamboo, instead of soft and herbaceous. Bamboo can come in any shape and size, from the aptly-named 40-foot tall timber bamboo (Phyllostachys spp.) that can be used to build a house to the knee-high broad-leaf running bamboo (Sasa spp.) that resembles a more typical grass. It should not be confused with heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), an entirely different plant in the barberry family with feathery foliage and bright red berries, or lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) in the asparagus family, which is commonly grown as a houseplant.

Here in central North Carolina, which has a similar climate to that of eastern Asia, bamboo is easy to grow—perhaps too easy. Many species of running bamboo, such as golden bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) and arrow bamboo (Pseudosasa japonica), have been widely planted as hedges and screens, only to rapidly expand beyond their boundaries, thanks to their fast-growing rhizomes. As a result, the number one concern of any would-be bamboo grower is how to contain it—either by selecting naturally clumping species, or through the uses of containers and special guards and barriers to confine it. The mantra “right plant, right place” has never been more appropriate, allowing gardeners to enjoy the many benefits of bamboo without being overwhelmed by their drawbacks. And while they are less widely known than their Asian counterparts, there are also several species of bamboo (Arundinaria spp.) that are native to the Southeastern United States and which deserve to be more widely planted.

Visitors to the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum this past fall may remember the rare flowering of the blackstem bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra ‘Bori’) grove. Having completed its life cycle, this bamboo is now dying back and is being removed. Curator Paul Jones says his team will plant more bamboo at that location and contain it with root barriers. They haven’t yet selected a species. Until then, there’s plenty of other bamboo in the Gardens to enjoy, including the groves around the Meyer Bridge and the Gate of the Maple Stream (near the Discovery Garden).

Learn more: David Benfield, founder of Brightside Bamboo, will teach “Botany Spotlight: Bamboo” on site at Duke Gardens on Thursday, May 23, from 1 to 3 p.m. The program is for gardeners or aspiring gardeners at all levels. Read more about this class and others on our program registration site.

More Garden Talk Highlights

Photos, from top: Sunlight filtering through the blackstem bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra 'Bori') grove in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum, by William Hanley; close-up of a blackstem bamboo shoot emerging from the ground, by William Hanley; blackstem bamboo removal, by Bobby Mottern.