43rd Annual Florida Bamboo Sale

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.’