Learn About Bamboo
Bamboo Information Guide
Bamboos are among the earth’s most beautiful and useful plants, providing outstanding texture and form as screens, hedges, ground-covers and specimens. They enhance and transform gardens into peaceful sanctuaries of light, movement and space, touching our spirits and stirring our souls. Bamboo can beguile and possess. So be forewarned, you may shortly find yourself becoming ensnared with bamboo magic!
Over 1,000 species of bamboo in 90 genera have been described and named. The current rate of discovery suggests many more are still unknown. They come in a staggering variety of colors, sizes and shapes. Some creep along the ground only a few inches tall, others soar freestanding to over 100 feet. Some grow in tight clumps, others in open groves. Some even clamber up trees. The leaves of some species grow only half an inch long, while others reach a couple of feet. Many species have beautifully variegated culms (stems) and leaves. The diversity of species is perhaps not too surprising when one considers the many environments in which they have evolved. Indigenous bamboos are widely found throughout Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South America. They have evolved to fill a variety of ecological niches, ranging from tropical lowland to alpine highland, from rain forest to dry chaparral, and from acid to alkaline soils.
Bamboo Sourcery offers an extensive variety of bamboo plants in many sizes, ranging from 1, 5 and 15 gallon sizes to magnificent giant timber specimens 30 to 40 feet tall in large tubs. Our beautiful and unique demonstration gardens and expert advice enable you to select the best varieties for your needs. All stock is container-established and ready for planting. Special orders are welcome, and we deliver within the greater San Francisco Bay Area. We also carry bamboo root barrier, fertilizer, fencing, poles, garden accessories and books. We invite you to come visit us!
In the following pages we attempt to present a complete guide to the world of bamboo, providing thorough and accurate information and advice about such useful topics as: how bamboo grows (and flowers!), bamboo planting, care and cultivation, selection of species, information about clumpers, runners, and the containment of running types of bamboo, growing bamboo indoors and for other specific uses and special circumstances, as well as a section on trouble shooting. We aim to give every customer an easy and successful experience with bamboo. We hope you find it helpful!
A printable PDF guide is available by email or by calling our office at (707) 823-5866!
Please navigate our extensive guide using the menu on the left, or by clicking the link below!
PDF Version
Want this whole guide as a printable PDF with full color photos, detailed descriptions, and more? Just send us an email with the subject: PDF request!