Gardening in California 



The Bambusa family is divided into several sections. The 

 Arundinaria has a straight round stem which the branches nearly 

 encircle. These appear simultaneously along the whole length 

 of the stem, and at each joint, the sheaths of the young branches 

 being carried until late in the season, this giving a rather unkempt 

 appearance to the plant; Arundinaria Simonii and Arundinaria 

 Japonica seem to carry ttiem much longer than the other species. 



The Phyllostachys, on the contrary, begin to open their 

 branches at the lower end of the stem and gradually develop 

 them upwards. The Phyllostachys also, instead of having a per- 

 fectly round stem, have a double furrow along the stem, this 

 being caused by the pressure of the branches against the stem 

 while in a soft state. 



Propagate by division of the roots and by cuttings. The best 

 time to propagate the Bamboo by division of the roots, which is 

 a very simple process, is in the end of March. The plants should 

 be taken up and divided into small clumps of two or three stems 

 each with their jointed roots attached (there being left as much 

 earth, around the roots as possible) and planted about two feet 

 apart, in good, fresh, light loamy soil. They should be given a 

 good watering and a mulching with half-rotted manure. They 

 may be planted at once where they are to remain. 



Propagation by cuttings is effected by taking up the under- 

 ground stems, or rhizomes as they are called, in March or April, 

 cutting them into lengths of from six to eight inches, planting 

 them in light sandy loam, about four inches deep, and giving them 

 water as required. See that only roots of the previous year's 

 growth are used as all older rhizomes will be failures, only the 

 young rhizomes being reproductive. 



Among the species which thrive well and are perfectly hardy 

 may be mentioned the Arundinaria falcata, Arundinaria 

 Hindsii, Arundinaria Simonii, Arundinaria Japonica, Phyllos- 

 tachys amea, Phyllostachys henonis, Phyllostachys nigra, 

 Bambusa Marmorea, Bambusa quadrangularis, and Bambusa 



[210] 



