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In a bamboo garden 
Bamboos and Grasses 
In a limited way the clump bamboos serve many of the purposes of trees in larger plantings. 
They add interest and variety to the sky-line, cast long shadows of varied form in the early and 
late hours of the day, and suggest a feeling of enclosing bulk in the planting as a*whole. But 
their especial usefulness in the South rests more on their power to add distinctively tropical ef¬ 
fects to the landscape. 
While they do well on a variety of soils, they do not like very thirsty land, and, as gross 
feeders, they respond readily to liberal applications of organic manures and fertilizers. Used 
for hedge and windbreak purposes, they can be planted very close together and in a few years will 
make effective and invaluable screen plantings for these purposes. Shallow ditching will offset any 
damage to other subjects from the foraging roots of the bamboos. 
This interesting group has its place in every land¬ 
scape planting, and since most of the group are not 
only very tropical in appearance, but withstand a 
great deal of cold weather, they are valuable to 
extend the atmosphere of the tropics to the more 
temperate states. 
Those marked hardy will stand the cold over all 
the Gulf States, and sometimes much farther north. 
Those marked sub-tropical will stand without in¬ 
jury in all but the coldest section of the state, while 
those marked tropical will show injury in a tem¬ 
perature below a light frost. However, most of the 
group if frozen down will come again very quickly 
from the roots. 
BAMBOOS 
BAMBUSA [1] nana. Hardy. Japan. This group of 
bamboos is all of the smaller more graceful 
type, suited to lawn planting, making very hand¬ 
some clumps. Some varieties are much taller 
and form larger clumps than others but all may 
be kept in bounds very well and most of them 
are completely hardy over the Gulf Coast. 
B. nana Alphonse Karri. A very vigorous type form¬ 
ing large clumps. The strong canes are alternate¬ 
ly striped green and yellow. 
ceed thirty feet in height. A valuable type for 
windbreaks. 
B. nana argentea striata. This is a variegated form 
of the argentea but it has larger canes and is 
a little more vigorous in growth. 
B. nana disticha (Sasa disticha). This is a very 
dwarf type that combines very beautifully with 
different forms of ornamental grass. Rarely 
reaching a height of more than ten feet, it has 
small canes and graceful, very finely cut foliage. 
Also makes a splendid hedge. 
B. Thouarsi. Sub-tropical. China. A fine giant type 
of Bamboo that seems to stand quite a bit more 
cold than most of the larger caned types. In habit 
of growth it is erect and very vigorous, reaching 
a height of fifty feet. 
B. vulgaris. Giant or Golden Bamboo. Tropical. This 
is probably the most common of the giant types 
in Florida, the graceful canes reaching a height 
of sixty or more feet. It forms a very large 
clump with graceful arching canes and feathery 
light yellow-green foliage. 
DENDROCALAMUS [2] latiflorus. Cochin China. 
Sub-tropical. This is probably the handsomest of 
the giant bamboos for Florida use. Very erect in 
habit of growth, the canes are extremely large 
B. nana argentea. This type forms very dense 
clumps of small graceful canes that rarely ex¬ 
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