 can be brought to the desired use rapidly by a spacing of 2 or 3 feet.
CARE AFTER PLANTING: If possible, protect bamboo from drought and competing vegetation. During the first year after planting water every 7 to 10 days when there is no rain. In large plantings, weeds and grass between rows of plants may be kept at a minimum size by mowing frequently or using herbicides.
FERTILIZATION. Apply a complete fertilizer such as 80 pounds N, 35 pounds P, and 50 pounds K per acre.
PRUNING HEDGES. Hedges should be pruned once or twice a year. Canes are allowed to grow to their full height in the spring, and then cut back to the desired height before the branches put out leaves. Cut the canes 1 or 2 inches above a node and branches on the sides of the hedge to the desired length.
THINNING GROVES. Thinning is necessary to produce desirable canes for market or home use and for best appearance. A grove should be thinned when the plants have covered the area and reached a height of 15 feet. Thinning should be done in the winter, and never when new shoots are putting up since they are easily broken and damaged. The first thinning should consist of removing the small canes and crooked canes, leaving enough canes to shade the ground. Never thin enough to allow the sun to dry soil around the plants. If too many canes are cut and large spaces exist, the stems turn yellow, good canes decrease in number, and the planting becomes thin and impoverished. If canes are unthinned, the plants get too thick and are small in size and the grove becomes filled with dead, fallen, and poorly shaped canes and does not present a handsome appearance.
Culms 1-2 years old have thin walls and do not produce desirable poles. The best poles are from 3- to 4-year-old culms. It is not advisable to leave stems older than 4 or 5 years, therefore, older canes are always removed in thinning. Never remove more than one-fourth of the canes at one time. Some system of marking the new canes each year is desirable so that age of the cane can be determined at time of thinning. A well managed grove has stout, well shaped canes with a dense dark green foliage that is attractive. The fallen leaves accumulate and decay naturally, producing a constant supply of humus that holds moisture and fertility. The grove will furnish a continuous supply of poles that may be harvested each year. Thinning would not be practical if bamboo is grown on a large scale for pulp.
Harvesting by sawing canes is better than cutting with an axe. Cutting leaves sharp points that do not decay for several years and are thus dangerous to anyone working in the grove.
Bamboo has many uses in the Orient where it is intimately associated with the lives and economy of the people. Currently, its uses are more limited in the United States.
ORNAMENTALS. Since the species vary so widely in size, they afford many uses as ornamentals varying from shades to screens to small base plantings around a dwelling. Bamboo is an evergreen plant and makes an excellent screen. Since species vary so much in height, a screen can be almost any height from 2 feet to 50 feet. Also, pruning of large species permits height control and variable shapes and heights of screens.
STAKES. Bamboo is resistant to termites and stakes will last several years. It makes excellent plant stakes for flowers, tomatoes, beans, and other plants.
POLES. Bamboo is the best plant known for fish poles or poles for knocking pecans or other nuts from trees. Thousands of poles are harvested and used in Alabama each year. The poles can be used in the manufacture of furniture and other articles and for buildings, such as tea houses in gardens.
WIND BREAKS. Bamboo is an excellent plant for wind breaks. It will withstand violent winds and, growing thick, will prevent wind damage to other plants.
FOOD. Young shoots of many bamboos are edible. They are imported into this country and used extensively in cooking, particularly in Chinese foods.
GRAZING. The leaves of bamboo are edible and animals graze on them when they have access to them. The “switch canes” (Aruundi