Lewis Bamboo
Green Onion
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Characteristics of Pseudosasa Japonica 'Tsutsumiana'
A collectors bamboo with large swollen internodes which resemble green onions make it very unusual. Great screening bamboo for a partly shaded area. This bamboo makes a great house plant as it does fine with minimum light requirements.
Pseudosasa Japonica 'Tsutsumiana' (Green Onion Bamboo) is sought by many gardeners and collectors. The large swollen internodes which resemble green onions make it very unusual. This is a very erect species of bamboo having a dark green leaves up to 12 inches in length. It does well in containers and when planted in the ground can grow to 18 feet in height. Similar to 'Arrow Bamboo' and this species is not considered to be very invasive in nature compared to other runners used for privacy screening.
Some customers select this species as an alternative if they are in zone 6 or 7 and cannot grow 'Buddha's Belly' bamboo.
'Green Onion Bamboo' makes a great house plant as it does fine with minimum light requirements and will reach mature sizes if the container is large enough. The bamboo will need dividing every other year to allow for rhizome growth. Bamboo in its natural setting is free to roam finding just the right sun light and soil nutrients to grow to its mature species size. In a container it is not capable of this and will rely solely on your care.
Do not leave your containers of bamboo outside during the winter months and expect it to live.
In cold climate zones you must move the container into a protected warm area during the cold winter months.
Plant introduction number (PI) into the U.S .25835
How Bamboo Grows
Bamboo grows a little different than most plants. The bamboo that you get initially never grows vertically again. It has babies that are taller, that has babies that are taller. Every generation should be taller that the previous year's shoots. The intriguing aspect is that each year’s growth emerges and grows to it complete height in 60-90 days. They spread as they produce larger growth, filling in and providing a screen.
This link will help you learn how bamboo grows. It will give you an idea of what kind of growth to expect from your planting. It is a lot of information, but well worth your time. How Bamboo Grows
Planting Instructions
Planting bamboo is also easy. You want to dig a hole about twice the size of the root ball. When you plant the bamboo amend your soil with composted manure and a good top soil. Bamboo can be planted at ground level or slightly deeper. It is not a picky about it conditions but this will help get it off to a good start.
More details can be found on our Planting Instruction Page
Spacing between plants
One division of bamboo will start a grove or screen over time. However, if you want a privacy screen fast, we recommend planting bamboo 3 to 5 feet apart. This will hopefully allow you to have a good screen in three years. There are a lot of factors such as water, sunlight, and climate zones that speeds up or slows down the process. Three years is about the average on this spacing, closer planting will allow you to screen or develop your grove faster. You cannot over plant bamboo.
Maintenance
Fertilizing
Bamboo can benefit from a fertilization program. You can safely fertilize your bamboo once it has been in the ground for one month. A time release fertilizer will work great. Time release fertilizers allow for proper absorption in case your soil is out of PH balance. We offer some fertilizer to help with growth. We fertilize twice a year. Once in the early spring to encourage new growth and then again during the middle of the grow season to replace any nutrients that are being depleted. Click here to see our recommended fertilizer: Our Fertilizers
Control
Over the years a lot of myths have been told about bamboo, while it can spread under good conditions, it is not as invasive as many people would have you believe. In colder climates an aggressive runner here in the south will hardy spread at all in comparison. We have been growing bamboo since 1985 and had experience with it long before that. The bamboo's underground root system (rhizome) will spread beyond the initial planting over the years, so in the next two or three years you will need to decide on some method of containment on the sides you do not want the rhizomes to run over into.
We have constructed a page discussing multiple methods of controlling bamboo. It goes over root pruning, mowing new shoots, and in ground barriers: Controlling Bamboo
All this said and it may discourage you, but as with any plant there will be maintenance. Bamboo is very beautiful and is great in a Japanese style garden, but it will need maintenance down the road. At first it may seem to be doing nothing, but after 3 to 5 years you will have a lot of beautiful culms (canes) and love the foliage. All our 150 plus species simply contained by mowing and weed eating the new Spring and Summer shoots. Hopes this helps and don't be afraid of the bamboo.