The 2023 bamboo sale is now over...for next year....
Every winter, Kanapaha holds an Annual Winter Bamboo Sale. In January, Kanapaha issues a descriptive sales/availability listing of clumping bamboos that are being offered during January on a dug-to-order basis.
How to order...
Orders for bamboo may be phoned in to 352-372-4981 starting January 1, 2024. Buyers will be advised of the date orders will be ready for pickup and payment will be needed when orders are placed. There are no refunds issued after the bamboo has been dug. Order are prioritized by the date the customer is willing to come pickup the bamboo since some orders may exceed availability. Last day for placing orders is January 22, 2024 and the last day for picking up bamboo is January 27, 2024.
is a CLUMPING bamboo whose tiny ornate leaves are suggestive of fern fronds, making it an outstanding accent plant. Grows to a height of 20 feet in sun/bright shade. Very limited!
Very diminutive cultivar of the CLUMPING Hedge Bamboo. Solid pencil-thin canes only 8 ‘-12’ tall bearing delicate leaves. Sun/bright shade.
is a medium size version of the larger hedge bamboo. It attains a mature height of 15’. Excellent visual screen in sun/bright shade.
is the horticultural standard for visual screening. A CLUMPING bamboo for sun/bright shade. Grows to height of 30 feet.
is the horticultural standard for visual screening. It is a beautiful
CLUMPING bamboo whose golden yellow canes bear green pinstripes. Grows to 30 ‘ and prefers sun/bright shade.
is the horticultural standard for visual screening. Similar to hedge bamboo with one notable exception: Its new spring leaves have an abundance of longitudinal white stripes; these become less distinct as the growing season progresses. This CLUMPING bamboo grows
to 30 feet and grows best in sun or bright shade.
is a slightly smaller version of Wong Chuk Bamboo for use in more limited spaces. Perfectly straight 2” diameter canes to 40’; lower third of canes devoid of branches. This is one of the cold-hardiest of the giant species. Sun/bright shade.
is 40 feet tall with a blue-white hue on the canes. Cane diameter is 2.3 inches.
is an elegant giant CLUMPING bamboo in a class of its own. Perfectly straight 3” canes to 50’; lower third of canes devoid of braches. This is the cold-hardiest of the giant species. Sun/bright shade.
is a giant CLUMPING bamboo whose canes have a dense white powder coating that gives them a bluish cast. 40' with 2.5' diameter canes; no leaves or branches on the lower portions. Sun. Limited quantities.
is a giant CLUMPING bamboo whose canes are slightly zig-zagged at the base; its crowns bear foliage in such profusion as to resemble giant green ostrich plumes. Grows to 55 feet with 3” thick-walled canes. Sun.
Is a giant CLUMPING bamboo like the Buddhas Belly Bamboo , but has yellow canes bearing dark green stripes. 55’ with 3” canes. May be damaged or killed by temperatures below 20 degrees F so plant in a sheltered site. Sun. Limited quantities.
has no accepted common name but makes an impressive visual screen in sun/bright shade. It is a large CLUMPING bamboo (50 feet or more) whose canes may attain a diameter of 3 inches. Limited quantities.
is available again in limited quantity.Canes 4 inches thick and 50+ feet high. May be damaged or killed by temperatures below 20 degrees F so plant in a sheltered site. Sun/bright shade.
Bamboo will survive indefinitely in pots, but you will see little growth of the plant over long time periods. Keeping bamboo in pots stunts its growth and the canes will never achieve their maximum size. This is mainly caused by the fact that bamboo needs a lot of space and soil to send out new rhizomes and shoots, something that is not readily achieved in pots. The net result over time can be a network of small rhizomes and fibrous roots that are not supportive of rapid growth once planted in the ground.
Bamboo from Kanapaha is dug fresh after it is ordered, directly from the parent plant. Most canes on the plant will be the maximum size diameter for the bamboo species mirrored by a large corresponding rhizome system attached. Our 15 and 20 gallon sizes are about as heavy as you can lift with no extra dirt or weight surrounding the root system. What you are really paying for with bamboo is the rhizome (root system), that is the "soul" of the plant that will send aloft new canes for years to follow.
Bamboos likely seem expensive to those unfamiliar with their propagation. The cost is attributable to both demand and the fact that most species cannot be readily propagated from cuttings and seeds are rarely produced (once every 120 years in one species we display). Thus, propagation is accomplished by digging and chopping apart the woody rhizome system, a process akin to dismantling a subterranean network of two-by-fours. Because this sort of propagation is labor intensive, prices are higher than for nursery-grown species and almost no nurseries stock them. Please keep in mind that it is the rhizome system (“A root ball”) that you are paying for. Because we sell locally, we keep the canes attached (cut back to roughly 5 feet in length) so buyers have something to look at right away; but the “soul” of a bamboo plant is its subterranean rhizome network that will send aloft new canes each shoot season.
There are 2 basic bamboo growth forms. Clumping bamboos grow as expanding clumps of densely packed canes, whereas running bamboos send out long underground ‘runners’ and develop thickets. We do not sell the running species and only offer clumping species for sale.
CLUMPING BAMBOOS: bamboos belonging to the genus Bambusa grow from a rhizome system that annually produces new canes at the immediate outer margin of the dense stand to produce an expanding clump. Because they spread more slowly and because they are so visually impenetrable, many homeowners prefer them for visual screening as well as visual accents in the landscape. Clumping species offered this year are: Stripestem, Hedge, Golden Goddess, Chinese Goddess, Silverstripe, Goldstripe, Wong Chuk, Puntingpole, Buddha’s Belly Bamboo, Variegated Buddha’s Belly and Dwarf Buddha’s Belly.
For approximately 10 months annually, almost no growth occurs in the above-ground portion of the plant as it puts its energy into rhizome growth. Then, during the 2-month ‘shoot season,’ new and larger canes emerge, often with phenomenal speed (almost 2 inches per hour in one species) that makes bamboo the fastest growing of all vascular plants. Running bamboos produce their shoots in early spring; clumpers shoot in the summer. Individual canes live for an average of 5 to ten years and attain maximum strength (for construction purposes) at ‘middle age.’
We cut the bamboo canes to appproximatly 5 feet in length. If you can not fit the cut bamboo into your vehicle, It is the responsibility of the buyer to cover their bamboo with a tarp (to provide a windproof cover) during transport. BAMBOO NOT COVERED DURING TRANSPORT MAY BE KILLED!
Dig a hole that is 50% larger than the root ball of your bamboo clump. Mix half the soil you dug with an equal amount of potting soil. Do not buy potting soil with fertilizer in it. Sometimes potting soil will say it "feeds" for a time period or it has "food" and that means there is fertilizer in it and you don't want that. Place the potting soil into the hole, hold the root ball in place atop it and gently tamp the remainder around the sides. Use the other half of the soil to make a ring around the periphery of the plant. Fill the resulting ‘crater’ with water, let it soak in, and refill. It is helpful to apply a surface mulch (wood chips, lawn clippings, leaves, etc.) to reduce evaporative water loss.
It will take about 12 weeks for your bamboo to reestablish its root system. During this period, it is essential that you not allow the soil to become dry. Water bamboo every day for the first two weeks. Then every 2 or 3 days for the next 11 weeks (unless rainfall does the job for you). When watering, fill the 'crater' as well as spray the entire above ground portion (canes and leaves) with water as well. Do not fertilize during this 12-week period.
Thereafter, water your bamboo regularly as you would with shrubbery in the spring. You may fertilize with a slow release fertilizer in the spring.
Your first shoots will appear in midsummer in ‘clumping’ species. The first crop of shoots is usually comprised of small canes, a reflection of the damage inflicted by our hacking apart the rhizome system to make a clump available for sale. Nonetheless, water and fertilize after shooting ends because this is the period of rhizome growth and your efforts will be rewarded when the following ‘shoot season’ arrives. Second season canes will be substantially larger and the number approximately doubles annually thereafter. Individual canes live 5 to 10 years and attain maximum strength (for construction purposes) at ‘middle age.’
In general, we will replace bamboo that has died within 12 months of the date of pick up provided buyer provides receipt of purchase and returns the entire dead specimen. Bamboo that dies after February will be replaced the following year since we only dig bamboo during its optimal transplanting time in January and February. However, decisions regarding replacement are made on a case-by-case basis to insure that Kanapaha Botanical Gardens is the party at fault. We are not responsible for the replacement of plants that, for example, are not adequately covered/protected during transport and prior to planting, planted outside of their suitable survival range or that show signs of obvious neglect. Kanapaha's staff is skilled in the selection and excavation of the clumps we sell and survival is nearly 100% if the plants receive proper care. Therefore, we will not assume responsibility in situations where a large proportion of a bamboo order dies, as this suggests they received inadequate care after purchase. We sell bamboos that grow well in north Florida under normal weather conditions and cannot be held responsible for losses caused by extreme and unusual weather events or other natural phenomena beyond our control such as running bamboos dying back after flowering or ornamental varieties of bamboo reverting back to their original form. We do not replace bamboos that we replaced the previous year.
How far apart should bamboo clumps be spaced for visual screening?
This depends on which variety of bamboo is involved, since larger varieties expand more quickly than smaller types. For visual closure within 3 years, we recommend the following spacing of clumps for the types of clumping bamboos we are offering: Buddha’s Belly, Wong Chuk ---8 feet. Graceful, Blue --- 6 feet. Hedge, Silverstripe, Stripestem ---4 feet. Golden Goddess---3 feet. Chinese Goddess, Fernleaf ---2 feet.
Can the bamboo clumps be subdivided at the time of purchase?
This is not advisable since we custom dig each clump to try to insure each has enough rhizome mass (root ball) to survive and subsequently thrive. We recommend waiting at least three years before dividing bamboo clumps.
How far away from a fence, building, or other structure should a bamboo plant or screen be planted?
This is not a question that can be answered generically. Bamboo clumps continue to expand ---more slowly with age--- throughout their lifetimes. Thus, a Hedge Bamboo planted eight feet away from a fence will eventually reach the fence, but not as quickly as one planted six feet away. Larger varities fill in more quickly and smaller types more slowly. The question is better rephrased: How many years of maintenance-free bamboo screening do I want before the prospect of controlling rhizome growth in the space separating the bamboo and wall?
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