BAMBUSA

 

    Clumping bamboos which prefer to grow either (1) in the ground in full sun or (2) in a pot at least 30" in diameter in mixed sun and shade.  The rhizomes will not run sideways, but large mature rhizomes will produce enormous pressure if forced to grow in a small area.  (see concrete pot broken by B.ventricosa rhizomes).   Bambusas typically are large clumping tropical bamboos which like lots of heat & water, especially during the late summer & fall, when they're doing most of their new growth. The most important thing a gardener can do for them is to keep the soil at the base of the plant wet from the time their new shoots first peek out of the ground until they put out  leaves at the top of the fully-grown new culms.  A good way to do this is to put a drip system on the plants & let it drip constantly day & night from July thru October. That will produce plants as big as they're capable of growing in your climate.  As they get less water & less heat, the plants will mature shorter & with smaller diameter canes.

    Even if the climate is moderate, with mild winters, if the summers are also relatively cool, as in California coastal areas, the plants will not grow as quickly or ultimately get as large as they will in areas with hotter summers.