Bamboo at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, Florida

[kenjamin]

A wide range of bamboo types can be seen at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens on the west side of Gainesville, Florida, USA.

http://www.kanapaha.org/

My girlfriend and I went to a bamboo workshop at the gardens this last Saturday and were amazed by the information we received. For instance, not all bamboo shoots out runners in all directions. The "clumping" types are fairly easily contained as they stay in a clump that just gets bigger while the runner types tend to be invasive. Even running types, however, can be contained by using a proper barrier at least two feet deep.

There are many bamboo species at the gardens including Black bamboo, White bamboo, Blue bamboo, Budda's Belly, Wong Chuk, Striped Cane, Poling, Big Timber, Beautiful, Arrow and many more.

Here's my girlfriend and I in front of a gorgeous stand of Wong Chuk (also called Royal) Bamboo :



Blue bamboo:



Striped Cane:



Big Timber:



Two different types of running bamboo (sorry, I didn't get the names of these).


Lobby of main building at the gardens:

[James McMullen]

Are any of those species edible ones? I always wondered if there was a particular kind of bamboo for bamboo shoots, or if they're all pretty similar or what.

[kenjamin]

James, it's the white bamboo that has the edible shoots. I'll check that when I get home from work because I left the sheet from the workshop at the house, but I believe that's correct. Also the leaves from most bamboo are very much enjoyed by elephants. At the gardens when they package bamboo for sale, most of the greenery must be removed to not stress the root ball and they send off the greenery to zoos with elephants. They only sell the bamboo at Kanapaha in January and February and it's very expensive because of the difficulty involved with digging it up and because of the limited supplies.

[MiddleAgesMan]

We have a similar facility near Savannah, historically called simply The Bamboo Farm. When I was looking for material to be used for the battens on my Gazelle's junk sails I was surprised at the price of suitable stalks...less than a dollar each IIRC. The curing and seasoning process seemed too daunting in the end so I opted for wood.

Here's a link to a page which includes a brief history: http://www.bamboo.caes.uga.edu/AboutUs.html

[kenjamin]

Thanks for that bamboo link! Another source for bamboo is:

http://www.tytyga.com/category/Bamboo+Plants

[capt jake]

Here are a few bamboo links that I use. I have 3 varieties on the property in at least 14 locations at present. I plan on more.
http://www.americanbamboo.org/FAQ.html
Are use the following as a reference quite often. http://www.bamboogarden.com/default.htm

[kenjamin]

Thanks, Captain Jake, for those great bamboo links.

James, here's a link about eating the shoots:
http://www.americanbamboo.org/FAQ.html#CanIEatTheShoots

[capt jake]

...also, if anybody in the PNW is interested in a nice bamboo locations. Check out Jade Mounting in Spanaway. Pretty nice what he has done to his property and then turned it into a business. Maybe here....some day.
http://www.jademountainbamboo.com/index.asp

[WX]

Dendrocalamus latiflorus is one of the main edible bamboos, it's also used for structural building. I have about 5 stands of this planted.