Bamboo - Phyllostachys Aurea - Golden Bamboo

Aggresive running charactaristics makes this plant unsuitable for planting in a garden bed without any control method. Keep it containerised and keep well watered for a year round great looking bamboo plant. An evergreen bamboo growing to 6m by 6m . It is in leaf all year. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by the wind. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil and can tolerate drought. Requires a rich damp soil in a sheltered position. Dislikes prolonged exposure to hard frosts. Established plants are drought resistant. When they do come into flower most of the plants energies are directed into producing seed and consequently the plant is severely weakened. They sometimes die after flowering, but if left alone they will usually recover though they will look very poorly for a few years. If fed with artificial fertilizers at this time the plants are more likely to die.

Gramineae

Common name: Golden bamboo

Sinarundinaria aurea, Phyllostachys bambusoides aurea ((Carrière.)Makino.), Bambusa aurea (Hort. ex Carrière.)

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

This is a good companion species to grow in a woodland because the plants have shallow root systems that do not compete with deep tree roots.

Although called the ' Golden Bamboo', the leaves of this plant only turn golden if plants are grown in full sun, especially if the plants are half-starved. Cultivated for its edible shoots in China, it has the sweetest taste of the genus. It has been widely planted as an ornamental in the Mediterranean and seems to be naturalizing there. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus. The rootstock is running, but not aggressively so, the plant forming fairly tight clumps. New shoots are produced from late May.

Seed; Stem.

Young shoots - cooked. They can also be eaten raw and have very little bitterness. They are said to be the sweetest of the genus. The canes are about 15mm in diameter. The shoots are harvested in the spring when about 8cm above the ground, cutting them about 5cm below soil level.

Seed - raw or cooked. The seed is only produced at intervals of several years, it can be eaten in all the ways that rice s used and can also be ground into a flour and used as a cereal.

Paper; Plant support; Wood.

The canes make excellent plant supports and are also used for making items such as umbrella handles, walking sticks, fan handles and pipe stems. The canes are very hard but super-flexible.

A fibre from the stems is used for making paper. The stems are harvested at any time of the year and crushed with a hammer. They are then cooked for 2 hours or more with lye and beaten in a ball mill for 4 hours. The fibre makes a yellow/gold to cream paper.

Seed - surface sow as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse at about 20°c. Do not allow the compost to dry out. Germination usually takes place fairly quickly so long as the seed is of good quality, though it can take 3 - 6 months. Grow on in a lightly shaded place in the greenhouse until large enough to plant out. Seed is rarely available.

Division in spring as new growth commences. Divisions from the open ground do not transplant well, so will need careful treatment and nurturing under cover in pots until at least late spring. Division is best carried out in wet weather and small divisions will establish better than large clumps. Another report says that you can take large divisions from established clumps and transfer them straight to their permanent positions, misting or drenching them frequently until they are established.

Basal cane cuttings in spring.