Bamboo ain’t wood, baby. It’s a grass – I bet you didn’t know that! It has a rhizome root system (New Word Alert: Rhizome is a continuously growing horizontal underground stem that puts out lateral shoots at intervals) that continually regenerates the plant when the stalks are cut. Bamboo grows faster than any other grass with all growth of new bamboo occurring during wet season.
Be thankful your kids don’t grow this fast! Did you know that some species of bamboo can grow 3 feet in a 24-hour period? That’s a rate of almost 1 inch every 40 minutes! Bamboo emerges from the ground at its full diameter, 6-8 inches for some species, and will grow to their full height in a single three to four month growing season! The diameter of the bamboo will never change as it gets taller.
There are over 1,450 species of bamboo in the world. Of these, there are two basic types: those that spread and those that clump. Spreading bamboo, also called running bamboo, will cover a distance up to 100 feet in a short amount of time and are sometimes used as land border plants. Clumping bamboo will only add a few stalks around the edge of their tightly nit bunch every few months. There are many species of bamboo you can plant in a pot that won’t upset your neighbors and will allow you to enjoy the look of bamboo while keeping peace with your HOA.
Bamboo doesn’t grow on all continents – Europe is not known to have any native species of bamboo! But, because of its optimal climate and soil conditions, bamboo put Anji County of China on the map! It is known as the “Town of Bamboo”. This area harvests and process some of the most valued bamboo poles available worldwide.
Bamboo is used all over the world in categories such as beauty, culinary, medicine, ornamental, textiles, weapons, musical instruments, sports equipment and many endless uses for your eco-friendly innovative ideas! And it all started after the age of the dinosaurs and the evolution of prehistoric grasses between 30 and 40 million years ago.
I bet you look at bamboo a little differently now, don’t you? Well, you can every 40 minutes because it’s forever changing and growing!