Bamboos and Grasses 



CHAPTER XII. 



BAMBOOS AND GRASSES. 



THE Bamboo is a general favorite with all lovers of beauty 

 of form in plant life. It is an evergreen indigenous plant 

 belonging to the grass family. The Bamboo delights in a 

 light, rich soil, a well-sheltered situation and plenty of water at the 

 roots during the growing season, but stagnant water is fatal to it. 

 The bank of a perennial stream and the side of a sheltered lake or 

 pool, where the crowns are planted a foot or two above the water 

 level, are ideal spots for the growing of the Bamboo, while a good 

 mulching of well-rotted manure once a year encourages the plants 

 to send up strong and graceful stems. The more sheltered they 

 are from wind the better; especially must they be protected 

 from our strong Summer west winds. A background of our 

 native Pinus insignis or any deep-green tree or shrub, shows off 

 the Bamboo to very good advantage, or, if a more graceful com- 

 bination is desired, the Bamboo can be mixed with the Birch, and 

 the effect will be most pleasing, especially if the golden-stemmed 

 Bambusa aurea is used and the group is a large one. 



In planting the Bamboo in groups, it is inadvisable to plant 

 the strong rampant growers, such as Arundinaria metake, etc., 

 along with the more flexible Phyllostachys henonis or any of 

 the non-suckering species, as the spreading rhizomes of the 

 strong growers will run into the roots of the more delicate 

 kinds, rob them of their required sustenance and eventually 

 starve them to death. 



For single specimens on the lawn in sheltered nooks, the 

 Arundinaria falcata is one of the most graceful; it grows to 

 the height of about twenty feet, each stem drooping gracefully 

 from the center and forming a very pleasing effect. 



[209] 



