The other day, outside a mall in Jerusalem, I spotted a plant with fine-textured, weepy foliage and thought it must be some kind of bamboo.
It turned out not to be a true bamboo, but is commonly referred to as miniature or panda baby bamboo (Pogonatherum paniceum) due to the similarity of its leaves to those that grow on true bamboo. Both true bamboo and panda baby bamboo are in the grass family. True bamboo is the staff of life for panda bears. Bamboo is nutrient-poor and pandas devote 12 hours of each day to eating it. Curiously enough, pandas have the digestive system of a carnivore.
Because their diet is out of sync with their digestive physiology, even after eating up to 80 pounds of bamboo a day, they lack energy, do not interact much with other animals, and live a sedentary existence. Although they will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available, their diet generally consists of bamboo alone, even if they munch as many as 25 different species, depending on the season. In any given area that pandas inhabit, there must be at least two bamboo species since no species produces edible fare year-round and pandas would starve if they relied on a single species for their sustenance.
Clumping bamboos, as opposed to the running types, are the ones you want to select. Any Phyllostachys species, whether golden (aurea) or black (negra) bamboo, should be avoided. Giant timber bamboo (Bambusa oldhamii) grows in its habitat up to 65 feet tall, but I have never seen it grow more than half that size locally. It serves admirably as a screen along a property lines. If you are seeking a tough ground cover, select from several dwarf bamboos (Pleioblastus species) that grow no more than two feet tall. Dwarf bamboos are excellent for erosion control, and some show off green and gold or green and white variegated leaves.
To ogle bamboo up close, inspect the Japanese garden located at the south end of Woodley Park in Van Nuys, adjacent to the Tillman water reclamation facility. For visiting hours and tours, go to thejapanesegarden.com. Bamboo forests found at Orcutt Ranch in the San Fernando Valley (West Hills) and at the Huntington Chinese Garden in San Marino also merit a visit.
One of the virtues of bamboo is its cold tolerance. The Sunset Western Garden Book lists 35 bamboo species. Nearly all of them are hardy to 20 degrees or less, and several are hardy down to minus 20 degrees. Mexican weeping bamboo (Otatea acuminata aztecorum) is distinguished among bamboo species for its Mexican and Central American habitat — nearly all bamboo species are of Asian origin — and for its charmingly, excessively drooping growth habit. It is a clumping, as opposed to a running, bamboo species. As such, it is not overly aggressive — its lifespan is only 35 years
Bamboo is a quirky plant. Most species are monocarpic, meaning that the plants in those species flower only once, produce seeds, and then die. The length of time it takes for a bamboo plant to flower from the moment it sprouts from a seed can be as short as seven years or as long as several hundred years, and some bamboo species have yet to be seen with flowers.
There are three bamboo species native to North America, all found in the Southeast, and one of them, known as hill cane (Arundinaria appalachiana), has only flowered twice in recorded memory. Even more astonishing is the synchronicity of the flowering of many species; that is to say, all the individual plants of a given bamboo species, which may be growing on several continents, flower at the same time and then die. When this happens, the species that suddenly flowered and died is often thought to be extinct, but then it will happen that seeds produced before the plants died will germinate, proof that the species in question is still extant.
Certain bamboo species can grow as much as three feet in one day or one inch every 40minutes. Culms (bamboo stalks) may grow a hundred feet tall and eight inches in diameter in as little as three months’ time. People who live in tropical regions say they can literally hear bamboo grow as it pushes through layers of vegetation on its way up.
I received an email from a reader who has a 40-year-old fig tree that produced large crops until this year. The tree is in good health, but this year’s figs are either very small and hard or, if normal looking on the outside, rotten on the inside. No insect pests have been observed. This inferior fig phenomenon may be explained by the tree being pruned “all the way back.” Even though this practice has not deviated from one year to the next, it can be stressful for the tree and delay growth and normal maturation of the fruit. Once leaves have dropped, I recommend not cutting into the old wood this year but pruning new growth from this year alone, and no more than half of it.
California native of the week: Now is a favorable moment to plant California natives, and when it comes to California lilacs (Ceanothus species), the Ray Hartman variety is at the top of the list. It is a hybrid that grows quickly to a mature height of 20 feet with equal girth and makes a breathtaking informal hedge when in bloom.. It can thrive in any soil type, from sand to clay. While it is drought-tolerant, it will be okay with occasional summer watering. Flowers are pale to medium blue, are borne in six-inch spikes, and completely cover the plant when it blooms in late winter or early spring. Properly cared for and not overly pampered, Ray Hartman is a long-lived species and should persist for at least 25 years. The name Ceanothus was first given in the 18th century, naming the deciduous Ceanothus americanus, known as New Jersey tea since its dried leaves, seeped in water by the colonists, were made into a hot drink. Ceanothus is Greek for “thorny plant” and was originally applied to a thistle. A few species of Ceanothus do bear thorns, but the vast majority do not.
Do you have a bamboo tale to tell? Or a fig tree story? If so, send it along to Joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions and comments as well as gardening conundrums and successes are always welcome.