A very nice person gave me some bamboo as a gift, and I'm at a complete loss as to what it's growth habit, hardiness, and growth requirements are- any suggestions on (preferably internet based) resources I can use to look up information on it?
The species is: Sasa asahina
(The grower's website,
Sasa is a derivative of the Japanese word 'zasa', meaning small - all of the cultivars of Sasa are lower growing, spreading bamboos, suitable for groundcovers. Most are found naturally in damp hollows or woodlands and all will prefer partial shade and moist, rich soils. They are very hardy, most easily withstanding temps below 0F, -20F is generally considered the lower limit. These are serious runners - site carefully, plant in a container or use some sort of recommended bamboo containment system.
I am not familiar with this particular species, which is also sometimes referred to as S. schimidzuana. You might want to locate a good bamboo reference for details or contact the American Bamboo Society.
pam - gardengal
It is a "groundcover" bamboo. A short or dwarf spreading or running bamboo. I would be very afraid of it. It sounds quite invasive.
Good suggestions- thanks! Those names did the trick.
As for this species' invasiveness, this will be a container plant grown high above the blacktop on a balcony. I'll take appropriate steps to make sure the refuse from pruning is desiccated and kept out of the compost. (But thanks for the warning, it's good to know)
No need to be too afraid of it, as long as you put a stake through the heart of any prunings, wrap them in garlic and bury them in a lead-lined casket under a full moon. ;) I've been busy this year spreading my 7 groves of bamboo around. ;)
Running bamboos ARE invasive, but that doesn't necessarily mean one should discard any thoughts to planting them. With a little time and effort, they can be very adequately contained and their spread satisfactorily restricted.. And many of the sasas and some of the dwarf forms of Pleioblastus make excellent, evergreen container subjects, specially those offering variegated foliage. I have Pleioblatus variegatus growing in a 20" ceramic pot and it is a full, lush evergreen accent to my shady front porch all 12 months of the year.
Even larger growing running bamboos can be grown in containers - you just need to size the container accordingly.
pam - gardengal
I beg to differ Pam. Sasa shimidzuana can get up to 6 ft tall according to "Bamboo for Gardens" by Ted Meredith. My young Sasa palmata is already 4 ft tall and will eventually get 7 ft tall. Sasa asahina is not in the book.
What's the one that grows up to 3 feet a day and can be used to choke out trees?
Paul Bunyan, he chokes them with his bare hands.
On the serious side their are a number of different bamboos. Talking in generalities, there are two types of bamboo, clumping and spreading (running). The clumping can be controlled. The spreading is difficult to control unless grown in containers. Spreading bamboos have the capability of sending rhizomes out distances roughly equal to the height of the tallest bamboo. For example, a ten-foot tall bamboo can send rhizomes out 8-10 feet before sending up a new shoot. Bamboo rhizomes are generally shallow, less than one foot in depth. If the bamboo has nowhere else to spread, it can send its rhizomes deeper. Water is a natural barrier. Streams or consistently wet sites such as bogs act as barriers that the bamboo will not cross.
Bamboo does all its growing in less than three months. Bamboo that is five feet tall and 1/2 inch in diameter can be the same age as bamboo that is 100 feet tall and a foot in diameter. Moso bamboo will eventually stand 70-75 feet tall. During growing season, the moso grows three feet in 24 hours. Some people claim they can hear it growing. The world's record was one of Japan's commonest bamboos (Phyllostachys bambusoides), which grew almost four feet (121 cm) in one day.
At 36m (118 ft) Dendrocalamus brandisii is the world's tallest bamboo.
Here's a Bamboo Expert on Radio Japan a few years ago, that I saved because of the delivery as much as anything, but mentioning some of the odd facts
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