Bamboo has been used in Chinese gardens since 2000 BC. The Japanese, who started trading with China around 1000 AD, used bamboo to enhance temple gardens or the gardens of wealthy traders. Bamboos were chosen to symbolize a human relationship with nature.

In 1827, black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) from Japan became the first bamboo introduced to the west.

Bamboo is native to Asia, North and South America, and South Africa. Most bamboos that we grow in our gardens come from Asia.

A member of the grass family, bamboo is a monocotelydon, which means that one seed leaf emerges from the seed. Its thousands of species are divided into two main tribes: woody bamboos and herbaceous bamboos.

However, Sunset's Western Garden Book classifies these plants into four groups based on growth habit. The book's categories include dwarf or low-growing types; clumping bamboos with fountain-like growth habits; running bamboos with more or less vertical growth; and giants for grand-scale planting.

Bamboo has underground stems called rhizomes that have buds and roots. It also has woody canes called culms that support branches and leaves. The diameter of a young bamboo shoot emerging from the ground will remain the same throughout its life. An individual culm will never thicken in girth. The height a culm reaches in its first year will be its final height.

As bamboo gets older, it develops a stronger and thicker rhizome system. Culms that emerge from this system can be thicker and taller than the previous ones. Branches and leaves form at solid nodes (joints) on the culms and these do increase in number each year. Woody bamboos are evergreen, only shedding old leaves as young leaves are produced.

Most rhizomes typically grow one foot deep and rarely more than 1 1/2 feet deep. Bamboos have two types of rhizome structures, running and clumping. Clumping types grow a short distance then send up stems, forming clumps that slowly expand at the edges. Clumping types are mostly from tropical and subtropical regions.

Running types have rhizomes that rapidly grow out from the parent plant before sending up vertical shoots. These bamboos eventually form large patches or groves. Running types are hardy plants generally from temperate regions of China and Japan.

 To control running types, people often use rhizome barriers, but these can affect the long-term quality of the bamboo. The movement of water and nutrients will be impeded, and fresh healthy growth will be reduced over time. In any case, rhizomes can quickly grow up and over barriers.

If you need to control running bamboo, it is best to control it physically by removing some rhizome and culms from different sides of the plant each year using a sharp spade.

Be sure to select a type of bamboo your property can accommodate.

Plant bamboo in sun or partial shade. It needs little water and is drought tolerant once established. It does need water during its rapid growth period. Bamboo tolerates most soil types and needs light to medium fertilizing.

Bamboo can also be planted in wide, shallow containers. Containers need more water and liquid fertilizer. Division propagates bamboo easily just before growth begins in spring, typically between March and June depending on the type.

Bamboo has few pests that cause significant problems, but some can get bamboo mites, scale, mealybugs and aphids. Bamboo is used for hedges, screens, windbreaks and erosion control. It is also used for wood products, furniture, flooring, paper, building materials and clothing.

  Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (www.mastergardeners.org) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa, 253-4221, or from outside City of Napa toll-free, (877) 279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on the Web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions?

The Master Gardeners' Demonstration Garden at Connolly Ranch is open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon on the first Thursday of each month through October. Master Gardeners are on hand to answer gardening questions. Connolly Ranch is at 3141 Browns Valley Road at Thompson Avenue in Napa. Enter at the Thompson Avenue gate.

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