Seattle Gardens, A Bamboo Garden on Bainbridge Island

August 14, 2010

We lunched at Bainbridge Nurseries founded by Junkoh Harui and his wife Christine.  Next stop was a bamboo garden.  What an experience.  You don’t see bamboo much on the East Coast, but the two months of sun and 10 months of rain in the Northwest are a perfect clime to grow the 25 varied types of bamboo in this garden.  These pictures show the subtly in color of the colms, the older growth smaller than the new.

Bamboo
“Castillon”  Phyllostachys bambusoides
Seattle height – 25′
Maximum height – 72′
Maximum diameter 2″
Temperature 5 F
Japanese Timber has yellow-golden culms (canes) accented with a green groove and occasional green stripes.  Leaves sport a cream pinstripe. New culms often have a rosy blush that turns to yellow.  An excellent ornamental bamboo that sets off a dark building or other evergreens.
Bamboo
“Vivax”  Psyllostachys vivax
Seattle height: to 50′
Maximum height: to 70′
Maximum diameter: 4-5″
Minimum temp:  -5
Popular for large culms, strking appearance and tasty shoots. Has grown taller and larger than other bamboos in the Pacific Northwest.  Spreads rapidly.  Culm walls are thinner than other large timber bamboo so it is inferior for construction.  Culms may break in heavy snow but are readily replaced the following spring. Leaves are larger than many other bamboo giving it a slightly tropical look.  Give space to grow.
These descriptions are from flyer from Bamboo Gardens of Washington a wholesale/retail nursery.  425-868 5166   BambooGardensWa.com
Timber bamboos eventually reach heights of two to three stories. Individual culms finish growing in about two months, but it takes from 8 – 15 years after planting for new culms to grow to the bamboo’s maximum height.  Most culms live for 5 – 10 years. Many have very strong wood-like qualities when harvested after the culm is 3 years old.
The stalk is a culm,
The joint is a node,
the branches are branches,
a running root is a rhizome
and every rhizome, culm or branch bears a sheath to protect it during growth.

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