Autumn colors are giving way to falling leaves and with eco-friendly fall maintenance tips in mind, the leaf blowers are tucked away and the rakes are handy.  Even if there is curbside pick-up available in your area, it is still be beneficial to save those leaves to create your own compost pile.

With rising food costs, local food movements are on the rise and there are many aesthetic and environmental reasons to consider having a bamboo garden.  Composting is a key component of a healthy garden as it adds nutrients to the soil, increases the ground’s ability to hold soil and promotes root growth.  For tightly packed clay soils, the compost works as a porous divider that lets air and water enter the soil.  For sandy soils, compost works as a sponge to help hold water and nutrients.   Composting also alleviates the strain on local landfills as it reduces yard waste volume up to 75%.

You can start by making your compost bin (check back at Green Earth News on Wednesday for instructions) or purchasing one at a local hardware store.  Begin by layering different types of shredded plant materials in 6 – 8 inch layers using equal parts dry and green plant materials.  Be careful when using fine grass clippings as they can prevent water from moving through the mass.  It’s best to alternate fine materials with woody plant prunings as a balance of dry and green materials.

While some people include soil as a layer, the weight of the soil makes the compost pile less efficient as it suffocate microorganisms.  You should however add water after every few layers and possibly ½ cup of ammonium sulfate per bushel of material.  Recycled yard waste is the best and most readily available material for composting and includes leaves, vegetable and flower plant parts, straw and some woody pruning, grass clippings and weeds.   Plants lose between 50 and 75 percent of their volume in composting, so a lot of plant material can be processed effectively.  Kitchen waste such as vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and egg shells also compost well.

Materials to avoid include animal wastes (including dairy products), human, cat or dog feces (they may transmit diseases), plants treated with weed killers and wood ashes.  Manure, while once a popular choice, may now contain new strains of E. coli and should be avoided.  Likewise, newspapers were once a staple of compost bins but they may be best recycled and re-used rather than composted.  If you do use them, do so sparingly.

If a compost pile is properly mixed and maintained, a usable product should be available in as little as two months.  The compost should be half its original size with a healthy, earthy smell.  To maintain your compost pile, water consistently to keep it moist but not wet and use an aeration tool to turn the entire mass occasionally to provide uniform aeration.

Keeping a garden healthy requires much preparation but once prepared, a healthy compost pile will keep your garden bountiful for many seasons!

Fall Composting: Preparing Soil For A Spring Garden is a post from: Green Earth News

Well now that Lindsay Lohan is doing it……

To escape the paparazzi and prying eyes of law enforcement, Lohan spent the last days of her house arrest behind a rooftop bamboo fence.  Privacy aside, there are many reasons that a bamboo fence may be the right choice for your backyard.  Bamboo fencing adds a sustainable feature to your garden and is (in my opinion) more beautiful than standard backyard fencing. 

If you live in an area prone to bad weather, bamboo is a strong and durable option to help shield your yard from strong winds.  You can purchase bamboo fencing at a local nursery or home improvement store or plant your own bamboo border!  Just make sure you have the patience and time to wait a few years for the bamboo plants to reach full height and form an effective barrier.

If fencing isn’t what you’re looking for, consider adding bamboo as a border along a garden pathway or flower bed.  Try using the dark brown moso bamboo in random sizes from 6 to 12 inches high.  This edging is also available at nurseries or if you are making your own, simply drill holes on each side of the bamboo and connect with galvanized wire.  Unlike other borders available (whether plastic or metal), this border helps keep grass at bay and away from your walkway or the rest of your garden.

If you’re starting a second round of vegetable planting, now’s the time to add a bamboo tomato cage or bamboo pepper support.  Bamboo poles also make an excellent stake for your bean plants in the form of a tepee.  Take three pieces about 6 – 7 feet long and tie them at the top with some twine.  Make sure that you are planting pole beans though.  If there are no beans in the garden, use the tepee for peas!

Bamboo screens are a beautiful and practical addition to your garden as well as a bamboo trellis!  The lattice panels of the trellis are perfect for climbing vines such as clematis, morning glories and sweet peas.  Or, in our garden, we use the trellis for our climbing roses.   Slightly more complicated to build, many might find it easier to check out a local nursery for the sustainable bamboo product. 

If your garden is suffering from this extreme heat wave or the hail from all the thunderstorms rolling across the country, it might be time for a bamboo shade screen.  I’m building one next week to see if my next round of vegetable plantings can survive this Southern heat! 

Visit Green Earth News Bamboo Crafts section on the 3^rd Wednesday of each month for new project ideas and to see how the bamboo shade structure turned out!

And feel free to ignore any and all yard work on this holiday to enjoy a day of grilling, family and fireworks!

Bamboo Fences, Trellises And Screens For Your Garden! is a post from: Green Earth News

Whether this is your first year tending a garden or your bamboo garden is flourishing, it’s important to remember that caring for your garden goes beyond just planting the seeds.  By being tactical in pruning, you can increase the health and beauty of all the plants in your garden, whether they be flower, bamboo or vegetable!

Essentially, pruning is the act of discarding old plant materials to allow new growth.  “Older” stems are not able to absorb and utilize the nutrients from the root system as well as newer growth so they wither, brown and wilt which distracts from the beauty of your garden oasis.

Specific to bamboo, pruning improves their overall health by preventing the overpopulation of canes that have reached the end of their life cycle.  These canes will rarely fall off on their own and removal of the canes will help stimulate new growth.  If your bamboo garden is still in the beginning stages, pruning is not yet required.  Usually the grove must be established which takes 3 to 5 growing seasons.  That, of course, all depends on climate zone, water, sunlight, soil and bamboo type!

If you have running bamboo, maintenance is not just about keeping your garden beautiful.  Controlling the rhizomes of running bamboo keeps it from running out of control.  Mark the area where you want the bamboo to remain with a string or shovel.  At this point, you are focusing more on root pruning.  Most bamboo plant’s rhizomes are not very far beneath the surface of the soil (less than a foot usually) so you can use a spade or small shovel to dig to them.  Another maintenance method is to dig a narrow trench around the stand of bamboo and check it yearly to see if any rhizomes have tried to cross it.  Stop them in their tracks with your garden shears to keep your neighbors happy!

Looking above the ground, there are several ways to prune bamboo.  When determining your pruning pattern, it’s important to keep in mind the function that bamboo plants serve in your garden. Take a moment to step back and envision your garden as you would like it to appear.  Mark problem culms first and take another step back to see how their removal will affect your aesthetics. 

 If you are using it as a bamboo screen, don’t sacrifice privacy to remove canes. If a cane still has some foliage, leave it be until the next year.  For older culms, remove new shoots that have a larger diameter than the current culms.  Once removed, newer growth will be smaller in diameter. 

If the bamboo is lining a walkway in your garden, trim the lower limbs to remove a tripping hazard.  Trimming the lower parts of the bamboo is often referred to as “limbing” bamboo or “legging up.”  Once cut, the lower limbs will not grow again and if done properly, will give your walkway a very stately appearance.

If you are using dwarf bamboo as groundcover, cutting it to the ground is quite rejuvenating for the plant.  When new growth appears, it will be denser and even shorter making a more attractive ground cover.

 If you are more interested in achieving a topiary appearance, you can “top” your bamboo by removing the upper portion.  Once the bamboo is “topped” it will stop growing vertically but will generate more foliage to compensate for the loss of height, giving the plant a lush look.  Make sure to leave some viable limbs and cut about ¼ inch above the node.

Thankfully, bamboo is a low maintenance plant and usually only needs pruned, limbed or topped once a year (usually in the spring or summer) with only minor trimming required in between.  You will only need garden shears and/or shovel and spade and a little sweat to keep your bamboo garden healthy and beautiful! 

Make sure to invest in quality bamboo clothing to help wick away the sweat and keep you cool and comfortable while you work in or simply enjoy your garden!

See How Your Garden Grows: How To Properly Prune Bamboo! is a post from: Green Earth News

Rice plantations, fields of cotton and wide expanses of Bermuda Grass – all things one would expect growing down South but bamboo in the Delta?   Sure enough though (or as they say in my town “Sho’nuff”), a Bamboo Farm flourishes at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.  To be fair, the farm did begin as a prosperous rice plantation called Vallambrosa.  By 1834, the plantation measured 2,692 acres and was a leading rice producer along the Georgia coast.  However, after the Civil War left the farm and economy in ruins, rice farming became a less viable option for farmers. 

But there was a planter who had other options for the land – Andreas E. Moynello introduced the giant timber bamboo, Phyllostachys bambusoides, after a trip to Japan.  Although worlds apart in their origins, it turns out that both bamboo and rice both prosper in the Southern climate and rich soil. Seeing the success of their neighbor, adjacent farms acquired bamboo clumps and planted them on their own land.  One such neighbor, a Mrs. Smith, began selling bamboo shoots to local restaurants for use in bamboo recipes (perhaps they made their own bamboo pickles!) and bamboo poles to whomever needed them.

For anyone familiar with growing bamboo, it should come as no surprise that the grass flourishes in the Deep South.  While native to tropic climates in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Americas, bamboo is able to thrive in a variety of climates from a tropical rainforest to a snow-covered mountain. 

When the grove faced destruction, Dr. David Fairchild of the USDA contacted a wealthy donor, Barbour Lathrop, who purchased the land and leased it back to the USDA.  And from that purchase, a research farm was born.  In the 40’s, with the support of industrialists Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford researched the latex content of various plants in hopes of identifying native latex sources for use in rubber production. 

The Herty foundation in partnership with Champion and the Scott paper company worked to make paper from bamboo pulp and while they were able to make high quality tissue and writing paper from bamboo pulp, it was not profitable enough to continue production. 

On the medical front, yucca and several bamboo varieties were evaluated for their cancer-fighting properties.  And during the Vietnam War, much of the bamboo was harvested for use by the US Army to create replica Vietnamese villages at Fort Stewart to train soldiers for combat.

When the USDA phased out the Bamboo Farm, it was deeded to the University of Georgia to use for their agricultural research.  In recent years the Farm has been used to evaluate improved Bermudagrass varieties for resistance to mole crickets; field trials of conifers, camellias, blueberries have taken place; as have trials of various pesticides and pesticide alternatives for control of insect and weed pests. Some of the earliest trials of the popular ornamental sweet potato vine took place here as did trials of sun-tolerant Caladiums.

And when the Bamboo Farm faced closure again, a 501( c )3 was formed and the Friends of the Coastal Gardens was born.  The goal of the Bamboo Farm is now focused less on research and more on education, including a Roots & Shoots program which brings science classes from K – 5 in for half day field trips.  The Xeriscape Garden demonstrates water conserving techniques for gardeners.

The Bamboo farm continues to be a much-loved and often-visited site in Georgia and recently hosted their annual Spring Festival.  If a trip to Georgia isn’t in your travel plans, try growing your own Bamboo Garden this spring!

A Bamboo (Farm) Grows In Georgia: Education And Research Combine For A Beautiful Garden! is a post from: Green Earth News

With spring upon us, it is time to start thinking about planting a garden in your yard.  It is an easy way to lower your carbon imprint on this Earth, and there are so many benefits you reap from doing so.  Here are a few more reasons why this is the year to start a garden:

Cost.  Seeds are much cheaper than buying vegetables each week at the grocery store especially if you are currently buying organic.
Taste.  Having grown up in Wisconsin with the opportunity to buy my vegetables and fruits from farmer’s markets, I notice a difference between what you buy in the stores and what you get at a farm stand.  There is a considerable difference in taste.  If you’ve only ever bought your vegetables at a grocery store, I highly recommend trying truly “fresh” vegetables.  You will be pleasantly surprised.  I swear that everything fresh tastes sweeter!
Nutritional Value.  As soon as a vegetable is picked, it starts losing its nutritional value.  I think there is even a Green Giant commercial on TV that states this!  If it is coming right from the garden straight to your table, you will get the most nutritional value from what you are putting into your body.  Who wouldn’t want that?
Pride.  It is a great feeling of accomplishment watching things sprout from the ground and knowing you did that.  Plus, when people find out you are growing your own vegetables, you suddenly become very popular.  They want to share in your awesome fresh vegetables, and they often tell their friends.  It’s nice to know that your garden makes others happy.
Exercise.  I know that after I work in my garden I am sore.  Working in my garden wearing organic tees is quite the workout (especially if you are pulling large weeds out!).
Education.  This is a great lesson for your kids.  A garden shows them how things grow, how photosynthesis works, and how pollination occurs.  I have found that my kids are actually more willing to try things that they have grown too.  It also teaches them responsibility.  They learn what happens if they don’t water their plants.
Choice.  Most of the vegetables you find in the store are chosen due to ripening time and how well they transport.  Since it is your garden, you don’t have to take that into consideration.  I actually like it better when everything ripens at different times, because then you have a variety of fresh vegetable all of the time!  You can grow things like yellow tomatoes or red carrots, because you want to!
Truly Organic. As I mentioned before, the cost savings alone from growing your own vegetables as compared to buying organic is substantial.  However, as we have discussed before on Green Earth News, organic is defined differently for each person.  If the vegetables are in your garden, you know exactly what has been used on them.  You don’t have to worry about your family ingesting something you don’t want them to have.

There are a lot of great reasons to start a garden this year.  Let us know if you do and what you are growing in it!

Unearth Your Green Thumb: Spring Is The Time To Start Your Garden! is a post from: Green Earth News

It’s not unusual for organizations to host donation drives throughout the year.  The United Way thermometer is visible in many cities, soup kitchens ask for canned goods for the holiday and winter clothing collection sites are common for those in need.  But whoever heard of a bamboo drive?

Well, the residents of Edinburgh, Scotland, that’s who.  In anticipation of the arrival of giant pandas Tian Tian and Yangguang the zoo is trying to collect as much bamboo as possible for the new residents.  The Giant Panda may subsist mainly on a vegetarian diet but it still has the digestive system of a pure carnivore and does not have the ability to digest cellulose efficiently.  This means that it derives less energy from eating bamboo and must consume anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo shoots a day.  (Bamboo is such an important staple to the panda that the animals even developed a primitive wrist bone in order to hold the bamboo more easily.)  This appetite for bamboo represents a challenge for a country not know for its tropical growing conditions.   

To give credit where credit is due, the San Diego zoo has relied on a steady stream of bamboo donations since the arrival of Bai Yun and Shi Shi from China in 1987.  Volunteers sign up on a rotational basis to bring stems in from their gardens.  And with the help of those donations and the Giant Panda Research Station at the San Diego Zoo, the pandas have thrived.  On August 21, 1999 Bai Yun gave birth to Hua Mei, the first giant panda born in North America to survive into adulthood.

Beyond that, the San Diego Zoo and its Applied Animal Ecology Division established its first conservation science program for wild pandas at the Foping Nature Reserve in China in 2006.  The program utilizes radio telemetry to research mating strategies, genetic diversity of the population, denning ecology, habitat use and movement patterns and human disturbance, all with the goal of preservation in mind.

And the Edinburgh Zoo is borrowing another concept from the San Diego Zoo and looking into starting their own bamboo nursery to ensure their guests are well-fed.  While there are nurseries in Germany and England that could supply the bamboo, the costs for importing the bamboo could reach up to 70,000 pounds per year.  So why not grow local?

The main concern for most bamboo gardens in Scotland is whether or not they will survive the harsh winters there.  Temperatures can easily plummet well below freezing but thankfully there are over 1000 species of bamboo and many are hearty enough to survive the extreme cold of Scotland.  And because the majority of bamboo plants is Scotland are clumping bamboo, there is little concern about controlling the spread of it. (Of course, with two new very hungry residents, perhaps growth encouragement is needed?)

While it will be a challenge to prepare for the feeding and housing of the Giant Pandas, the payoff is well worth it.  Edinburgh Zoo will be one of the few zoos in the world to house Giant Pandas and estimate that visitors to the zoo could double to more than a million.  When the Giant Pandas first came to San Diego on a two month loan, two million visitors crowded in to catch a glimpse and the introduction of Giant Pandas to the Adelaide Zoo in Australia brought with it a 70% increase in visitors.   

While you may not have a Giant Panda to feed, consider taking advantage of the strong, beautiful bamboo plant and design your own Bamboo Garden!

Giant Pandas In Scotland: How Will They Get Their Bamboo? is a post from: Green Earth News

Taking into consideration everything that is necessary for healthy soil, the pH balance might be the one that sounds the most complicated.   And while the word acidity doesn’t sound like something you would want to increase in your garden, a healthy bamboo plant grows best in slightly acidic soils (around level 6).  For anyone who doesn’t remember their high school biology class days, acidity is measured on a pH scale of 1-14.  Basically, the pH is a measure of the amount of lime (calcium) contained in the soil.  Soils in moist climates tend to be more acidic while soils in dry climates are more alkaline (or basic).  The acidic side is represented by 0-7 and the alkaline measurement ranges from 7-14.

(If you’re not sure of the pH level of your soil, use this handy pH garden calculator.)

So why is it important to know your soil’s pH?  Well, it’s partly because the pH of the soil will determine what nutrients thrive for plant’s needs.  Soil solution carries within it such nutrients as Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K), and Phosphorus (P) that all plants need in specific amounts to thrive.  If the pH of the soil solution is increased above 5.5, Nitrogen (in the form of nitrate) is more available to the plants.  However, phosphorus is made available mainly when the soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.0.  And in general, if the soil solution is too acidic, most plants cannot utilize these nutrients and are more likely to take up toxic metals which can lead to toxicity (poisoning).

pH levels of soil also play a role in what pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals are needed to fight off bugs and diseases but thankfully the bamboo plant grows quite well without the use of any harsh chemicals!

Knowing that bamboo grows best in slightly acidic soils is one step towards a healthy garden.  But what if the soil is too basic or too acidic?  Generally speaking, it is easier to make soils more alkaline (basic) than it is to make them more acidic. Simply use hydrated lime in the garden.  Because different types of soils react differently to the application of lime, use the following guide to increase the pH by 1.0:

• Add 4 oz of hydrated lime per square yard in sandy soils
• Add 8 oz. of hydrated lime per square yard in loamy soils (the soil best for bamboo plants!)
• Add 12 oz. of hydrated lime per square yard in clay soils
• Add 25 oz. of hydrated lime per square yard in peaty soils

Note that this might be a gradual process and annual testing and adjusting of pH in the soil might be needed.

If the pH soil needs to be more acidic, try using sulfur in the following amounts to reduce the pH by 1.0:

• Mix in 1.2 oz. of ground rock sulfur per square yard for sandy soil
• Mix in 3.6 oz. of ground rock sulfur per square yard for all other soils

Make sure that the sulfur is thoroughly mixed into the soil before planting.  Additionally sawdust, composted leaves, wood chips, cottonseed meal, leaf mold and peat moss will help lower soil pH.

Hopefully this will make dealing with the pH of garden soil less daunting!  For working in the garden, remember to take advantage of bamboo clothes with their incredible wicking ability.  And for more tips on growing a beautiful bamboo garden, visit Green Earth News section on the Bamboo Garden. For those of you not utilizing bamboo in your garden, you may run into pesky problems. If so, search for an affordable home pest control company in your area.

Gardening Tips For Growing Bamboo: pH And Your Soil! is a post from: Green Earth News

 “….if I wanted to have a happy garden, I must ally myself with my soil; study and help it to the utmost, untiringly. Always the soil must come first.” –Marion Cran, If I Were Beginning Again

Consider soil the conveyor of all things healthy to your garden.  The quality of soil will determine the amount of nutrients that reach your plants and how well nutrients will be retained.  While bamboo is a hardy plant, there are several key elements of a healthy soil that affect the growing of bamboo.  These are particularly helpful to know about in areas with soils poorly suited to gardening. 

Read on to learn more about basic soil elements involved in growing bamboo:

• Soil Texture & Organic Content -Soil texture refers to the proportion of sand, silt and clay in a given soil.  Sand particles are the largest, clay particles are the smallest and silt is somewhere in the middle.  Bamboo tends to grow best in moderarely acidic loamy soil (fyi, loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration such as 40-40-20% concentration).  The loamy soils are desirable for bamboo growing because the sand provides the porosity necessary for water and nutrient infiltration and drainage while the silt and clay give soil the capability to retain the water and nutrients that have infiltrated.  Keep in mind that the soil texture has to do with the mineral content of soil and not its organic content.  A quality soil will have about 45% mineral content.
• Organic Matter – The organic matter is soil consists of living and dead plants and animals, and their wastes.  Organic matter is absolutely vital to soil health as it provides plant nutrients, improves water/nutrient retention and availability and aeration and drainage (for starters).  For bamboo plants, an ideal loam soil should contain about 5% organic matter but to be honest, it is almost impossible to overdo well-composted organic matter.  Apparently soil can’t have too much of a good thing and organic matter is a very good thing.  If you aren’t using a bagged organic fertilizer, composted manures make excellent fertilizers.  Consider making your own compost pile or see if your city produces wastewater biosolids. 
• Water & Air – Most bamboos do best in soils that contain equal proportions of air and water.  With too much air (i.e. sand soil w/low organic content) the soil is unable to hold enough water and nutrients for plants to survive and thrive.  With too much water, (i.e. swampy areas, or clay) air is displaced, and roots don’t get enough oxygen for respiration, which can stress or kill the plant.  In a perfect loam, air and water comprise half of the soil content, 25% air and 25% water.

Thankfully, bamboos are highly adaptable, and grow well in a variety of soils.  Check back to Green Earth News to learn more about the ideal soil elements for growing bamboo, including pH and how to increase it (if needed) to benefit your garden.  And for more information on growing bamboo, visit Green Earth News section on the Bamboo Garden!

Growing Bamboo: Healthy Soil For A Healthy Start! is a post from: Green Earth News

From California to the Carolinas, there are thousands of backyard gardens with varying needs.  Gardeners across the country must choose their plants not only for their aesthetic but also for their temperament to certain climates.  Bamboo is no different.  And while gardeners can choose a variety of bamboo plants to suit their needs, it’s important to factor in climate, sunlight and soil type.  Today, let’s talk about the role of climate and the sunlight in planting a bamboo garden.

Because plants vary in the temperature extremes they can endure, it’s smart to start planning your bamboo garden by checking a hardiness zone map.   Also referred to as climate zones, these zones are a handy guide to help you know which plants will grow the best where you live.  Basic laboratory testing can determine the lowest sustained temperature a particular type of plant can withstand but assuming that most backyard gardeners are lacking lab access, keep the hardiness zone chart as a reference.

For any gardening history buffs out there, hardiness zones came about years ago when botanists and horticulturists started gathering weather records throughout North America to compile a database showing the average coldest temperatures for the region.  Once these records were condensed into a range of temperatures, maps were made to show the lines between the temperature zones.  While the original studies and mapping were conducted by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the USDA, they have now been condensed into a uniform USDA map.   The USDA map divides North  America into 11 hardiness zones with Zone 1 being the coldest and zone 11 the warmest. 

But even within the hardiness zones, there are varying climates to take into consideration.  Most bamboo species will thrive successfully in tropical and temperate climates but it is possible to grow bamboo in adverse conditions such as deserts or colder mountain regions.  Placement of bamboo within your growing area also plays a factor.  While full sunlight seems like the obvious choice for these plants, many tropical species actually require shade during parts of the day.  And surprisingly shade is most important during winter months.  When frost combines with direct sunlight it accelerates the depletion of water from the plant.  So if frost is common in your area, make sure that the bamboo is planted in an area that receives at least partial shade during part of the day.

Below is a partial list of bamboo plants that are recommended for various regions in the United States:

Far South (Tropical, semi-tropical, humid, warm year round, no frost)
Recommended:  Bambusas, Chusqueas, Dendrocalamus, Drepanostachyums
Not Recommended:  All Semiarundianrias, “Blue Bamboo”, Chusquea circinata

Southeast (Hot & humid summers, some winter frost and down to 10 F. in some areas)
Recommended:  Almost anything will grow in this area if the minimum temperature rating of species is appropriate.  Also one of the few areas that Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens ‘Moso’ grows well. 
Not Recommended:  Chusquea circinata, Fargesias, “Blue Bamboo”

Southwest (Low desert area with hot, dry summers and very light or no frost in the winter)
Recommended:  Bambusas, Otateas, Phyllostachys. Hibanobambusa, Borinda boliana
Not Recommended:  Bambusa multiplex ‘Silverstripe’, Sasas, “Blue Bamboo”, Indocalamus

High Desert (Hot dry summers, cool nights, cold winters)
Recommended:  Pleioblastus, Semiarundinarias, “Arrow Bamboo”, Hibanobambusas
Not Recommended:  Bambusas, Fargesias, Sasas, Indocalamus, Phyllostachys nuda

North (Cold winters down to 0 degrees F)
Recommended:  All Fargesias, Many Phyllostachys, Pleioblastus
Not Recommended:  any plants not designated cold-hardy

Near Ocean (At least 200’ away from water with salt laden air, but not salt spray)
Recommended:  Bambusas, Otatea acuminate, Pseudosasa japonica, Chimonbambusa quadrangularis

Keep in mind that this is only a partial list of recommended bamboo species.  Keep visiting Green Earth New’s Bamboo Garden section for more detailed information on each climate zone as well as posts on how to prepare your soil for your bamboo planting.  Understanding the basic nature of bamboo will make everyone a better bamboo gardener and with proper planning and upkeep, everyone in the United States can take advantage of the beautiful and environmentally friendly bamboo plant.

In The Zone: Which Bamboo Plant Is Right For Your Climate? is a post from: Green Earth News

As the construction boom slows and  the idea of sustainable development grows, the Natural Resources Conservation Service was kind enough to release a list reminding us just how useful and important trees can be in our lives.  And while we are cheating a bit as bamboo is technically a plant, consider that bamboo is a plant that acts very much like a tree in many instances.  And rather than planting a forest in your backyard, a bamboo garden has the definite advantage of being easier to grow and maintain. 

10 Ways to Use Trees (and some Bamboo)

1. Cut soil erosion
   Rows of trees break the wind on flatter lands and healthy forests protect soil from water erosion on hillsides.  Soil erosion causes the loss of nutrient-rich topsoil and leaves the land vulnerable to flooding.  Bamboo is being looked at as a solution to soil erosion issues in Indonesia, Haiti and even the United States.  Check back next Monday to learn more.
2. Improve air & water quality
   A forest floor of leaves and decaying wood acts as a giant sponge by absorbing, holding and filtering water.  One acre of trees provides fresh, clean oxygen for seven people and will clean the air polluted by eight cars operated for 12 hours. The bamboo plant is even more incredible for providing oxygen – a grove of bamboo releases 35% more oxygen than an equivalent strand of trees.
3. Increase income
   A group of properly managed trees can provide excellent sources of income either from tree sales or the making of wood products. If you’re interested in starting your own bamboo nursery, the bamboo plant is a sturdy and easy to manage choice for beginners.  Aside from increasing your own income, the bamboo plant itself might change the economy of many struggling countries. 
4. Save energy
   A recent study shows that windbreaks can reduce winter fuel consumption by 10 to 30 percent. Trees also save energy by shading — one tree has the cooling effect of five air conditioners.
5. Protect livestock
   Trees reduce the wind and can significantly reduce animal stress. Livestock not only need less feed, but their gains are higher. Shade provided by trees is also helpful to animals during these hot summer days happening across the country.
6. Sound barrier
   Trees and windbreaks reduce noise from high-speed traffic and other sounds. Plant leaves, branches and twigs all absorb sounds of different frequencies providing a little bit of peace in this very noisy world.
7. Home for wildlife
   Wooded areas create valuable cover, nesting and breeding areas for upland game and songbirds. In winter, when all other food is blanketed with snow, seeds and fruits of trees and shrubs provide food for non-migratory species.   Bamboo serves the same purpose for wildlife including the dwindling bee population.  And while it’s not wildlife, bamboo is becoming a more popular choice for housing humans too.  Whether it’s a school building, a vacation hut or an emergency shelter, the bamboo plant is a strong and efficient choice.
8. Living snow fence
   If you live in snow country, properly locating a living fence of trees and shrubs parallel to your driveway or highway helps hold snow on the fields and off the roads.
9. Improve crop yields
   Soil particles blown by strong winds frequently damage small crops. Yields also may be lowered by the effects of hot winds. Trees protect against these hazards.
10. Beautify the countryside
    Well-kept wooded areas, windbreaks and other tree plantings undeniably enhance the aesthetic value of individual farms and the countryside.  Bamboo is itself is a beautiful plant!

And one more thing to add on to this list – just as trees provide fibers for various uses (think paper), the bamboo plant provides a fiber that is used to make soft and silky fabrics.  The bamboo plant provides for bamboo clothes, bamboo bath towels and even bamboo bed linens.

So there’s no need to wait for Arbor Day – get started planting to take advantage of the many benefits of trees and bamboo plants!

Beyond A Christmas Decoration: 10 Ways to Use Trees (And Bamboo)! is a post from: Green Earth News