Russian Bamboo

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Humanity, having lost the immortality of the gods, has been looking for an elixir for centuries, dreaming of regaining its privilege. His restless mind cannot come to terms with death. And only observations of nature reconcile a person with the thought of death, demonstrating the immortality of plants. After all, in order to be born again, they must die. "Dying" for the winter, they are reborn in the spring even more elegant. And some of them, having given offspring, perish, making way for their continuation (immortality) - a new generation. One of these plants is bamboo grass

Grass as tall as trees

Bamboo belongs to the family of cereals, by analogy with the structure of its stems, leaves and inflorescences, it is a grass. The uniqueness of this herb lies in the fact that a botanist is very superficial, having fallen into rugged thickets of bamboo, where forty-meter "trees" with thick trunks and a branchy crown make his journey difficult, is unlikely to agree that there is grass in front of him.

But even among the unique there are exceptions. There are "dwarf" types of bamboo, the growth of which does not even reach a meter, and there are also types of bamboo with climbing shoots.

Bamboo has one more feature. Depending on the species, they reproduce only vegetatively for 30-120 years, throwing out new shoots from existing roots. Huge areas are covered with impassable reed beds. And so, once in these 30-120 years, they decide to please the world with their flowers. The resulting seeds fall into the ground to germinate with new reeds. And the old ones perish, yielding to the youth for the next century.

Cold resistant types of bamboo

Most bamboo species live in the tropics and love warmth. But there are several species that make friends with the cold and grow beautifully in our open spaces. Let's get acquainted with some of them.

Genus leaf grate

It is a medium-sized bamboo with a height of 3.5 to 5.5 meters in the tropics and much lower in cold conditions. Loves moisture, especially after transplantation. It has corrugated or flattened stems with green leaves. The color of the stem is different: yellowish, green, bluish or black. Black stems are especially effective.

They require fertile soils, are weakly hardy, grow in the sun and in partial shade. Propagated in early spring by dividing the bush. In areas with frosty winters, it can be grown in containers in order to transfer the plant to a greenhouse or a room with windows to the south for the winter.

Fargesia Murieli

In the conditions of the Moscow region, it grows from 50 cm to 2.5 meters. Bright green leaves 1.5 cm wide and up to 10 cm long form loose bushes with a large number of shoots. By autumn, the leaves put on a yellow-green outfit.

Loves fertile soils, moderately moist. For landing, sunny or semi-shady places that are not accessible to the wind are suitable. Wind, heat and drought turn bamboo leaves into tubules. In the first half of May, the bush can be divided.

This type of bamboo is not afraid of frosts down to minus 29 degrees. For the winter, it is advisable to cover the plant with spruce branches or leaves. At the end of summer, leafless shoots are formed, which are important for the development of the plant, so they should not be cut out.

Rod Saza

This is the only genus of bamboo that grows in the wild on the territory of Russia, more precisely, on the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. In addition, it is the most cold-resistant of all. You can meet him on the forest edges or hiding under the forest canopy.

Oval wide leaves are located on stems 30-250 cm high. In spring and summer, the leaves are bright green. In autumn, the plant becomes variegated as a result of the drying out of the leaf edge.

It is unpretentious to soils, but does not like their drying out. It grows both in the sun and in the shade of trees. In spring, it can be propagated by dividing the bushes. In warm areas, it must be "kept in check", since heat stimulates its growth, and it is able to displace its neighbors from the territory. In cooler areas, including in the Moscow region, bamboo of this genus is not so active and needs a dry shelter for the winter.

Playoblastus Simone

Nice undersized bush (50-60 cm tall) with well-leafy shoots. Striped, showy leaves with bright green alternating with creamy stripes of varying widths.

It loves fertile, moist soils, but it also grows on poorer and drier soils. A moderately cold-resistant plant loves the sun, but is also not afraid of partial shade. For the winter, it is covered with dry leaves or spruce branches. The division of the bush is carried out in the spring, providing abundant watering of the transplanted plants.

Playoblastus Simona occupies a worthy place near water bodies, green lawns, rockeries, and also perfectly decorates balconies and patios, comfortably settling in flower containers.

Note: on the photo Playoblastus Simona