Tropical Gardening: Spring heralds forest and bamboo meetings, tours

Spring officially starts next weekend and with it comes a renewed commitment to greening our islands.

Two events open to the community that weekend are “Talk story on the Land” slated for Saturday and the Hawaii Chapter of the American Bamboo Society is having a potluck and tour to learn about bamboo propagation on Sunday, March 21. Both activities will be hosted at the Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary in Kaloko Mauka.

Saturday’s tour is sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust and features a hike through the cloud forest. The tour is free, but participants should RSVP to Janet Britt, acquisitions specialist and Hawaii Island director. Call (808) 769-4343 or email to janet@hilt.org.

Sunday’s bamboo meeting and tour will start with lunch, so bring your favorite dish. The propagation program will follow. Call HCABS president Jacqui Marlin at 966-5080 to RSVP, to get directions and for other for details.

You also can check out the website at http://hcabs.webs.com and click on newsletter.

•••

Asia is the ancestral home of many kamaaina — people and plants.

When it comes to plants, one of the most valuable of these is bamboo. Although there are many species found in Central and South America, tropical and subtropical Asia has used bamboo for thousands of years.

It is said bamboo and rice are the very foundation of these cultures. The Hawaiian ohe kahiko can be found in many parts of Polynesia. The actual genus and species is not clear, with taxonomists and botanists not all agreeing. We do know it is a tropical clumper probably originating in Southeast Asia. It is likely Schizostachyum and has been called S. glaucifolium in Hawaii. We saw vast stands in the mountains of high islands such as Raiatea in the Society Islands. Polynesians there still use it in crafts.

With large tracts of land now available for forestry, and our local interest in sustainable agriculture, bamboo might become one of our major resources. It has many uses, commercial and ornamental. These will be discussed at the Sunday meeting along with discussion of bamboo for food, construction, arts and crafts.

Some folks only know bamboo from their experience with the rampant running species. Needless to say, these types are not for the small garden unless contained. However, they have been used very effectively to stabilize steep slopes prone to erosion.

That is why we find large stands of Phyllostachys running bamboos on the steep slopes above Waiohinu in Ka‘u or at the back of Manoa Valley and on Maui. The intricate mat of roots and rhizomes hold soil and rocks in place and save roads, homes and streams from mud and rockslides. Bamboos certainly are a more attractive and environmentally sound approach to steep slope erosion control than concrete, wire or chain link screens. Erosion on East Hawaii gulch roads is a serious problem that could be addressed with certain bamboo species.

Bamboos also are excellent cattle feed and have a place in supplying nutritious greens at a low cost.

Bamboo Society members have been working on the potential of growing bamboos for multiple use sustainable agriculture, incorporating the animal feed component, and it looks very encouraging. There are plans to work with University of Hawaii agronomists in the near future to expand this project by using bamboo for windbreaks and feed.

Even though bamboos are excellent sources of edible shoots and construction material, most folks are interested in ornamental bamboos for their looks.

Bamboos, of one type or another, are a natural for almost any tropical garden. In fact, many of the hundreds of types of bamboos do grow in the tropics, but some species grow as far north as New York or Seattle and can be found growing up to 10,000 feet in the mountains of Asia and Central and South America. Bamboos vary from forest giants of 120 feet to dwarfs of 6 inches.

Many specimens of bamboo are suitable for ornamental purposes. The clump bamboos are ideally suited for ornamental uses in their area of adaptation. They can be planted in groups for hedges or singly for specimen plantings. They spread very slowly and are easy to keep within bounds.

One of the best for sunny locations is the Mexican weeping bamboo. Others to consider are the Bambusa multiplex forms such as Alphonse Karr, fern leaf, silver stripe and feather bamboo. These delicate clump types range from 10 to 20 feet high. Other rare clumping types are beginning to show up in our nurseries, such as the Chusqueas, Drepanostachyums and Fargesias.

For larger gardens, try Buddha’s belly, Oldham bamboo, Punting Pole bamboo and Weaver’s bamboo. These all are clumping types in the 40- to 50-foot high range with fancy Latin names and multiple uses.

The giant tropical clumping bamboos need plenty of room since they soar from 50 to 120 feet tall under ideal conditions. This group includes the larger Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Guadua and Gigantochloa species that might have culms 6 to 12 inches in diameter. They are grown for edible shoots, construction material, windbreaks and furniture.

Miniature bamboos well suited to container growing are the Sasa species and Shibatea kumasasa. These and other running bamboos such as black bamboo can be kept small or bonsai when contained. The running bamboos are more difficult to keep in bounds than the clump bamboo. However, many are desirable as ornamental plants because of diversity in their habit of growth, appearance and size.

Bamboo does best in a moist, well-drained soil with some organic matter. Apply complete fertilizer such as organic 8-8-8 or manures four to six times a year to the planting. Mulches add organic matter to the soil, help restrict the growth of weeds and conserve soil moisture. Apply a layer of mulching material at least 3 inches deep.

If you are interested in bamboo culture, contact your Extension Office for the circular “Bamboo for Forest and Garden,” and be sure to come to the Bamboo Society meeting.

This information is supplied by the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.