HOW TO TELL THE AGE OF A BAMBOO STALK

[charndannio]

I have read that a stalk of bamboo needs to be at least 3 years old before harvesting it. What I am trying to determine is how old is the bamboo that I am cutting is. I know some of these groves are 40 to 50 years old but there seems to be a limit on the size of it. I can find some that is about 3 inches in diameter but the majority is about 2 to 2-1/2 inches in diameter and about 25 feet tall. Can a stalk of bamboo grow to 2 inches in diameter in 3 years. If so is the bamboo that is 3 years old at 2-1/2 inches worth less than the stalk that is 15 years old at the same size. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Charndannio

[Strider_1952]

Bamboo 101

Bamboo stalks (culms in bamboo lingo) arise form the ground to their final height and diameter in their first year of growth. The new culm will look fresh and as they get older they will show their age in dirtiness and dullness. Many will develop moss, algae and lichens growth on the outside as they stand in the grove. Most will die before the make 15 years. I think the 5-year-old culm is the midpoint most often referred to.

Try this test. Cut down several culms that you think represent the year of age. Then using a knife, to give a smooth finish whittle off the cut ends and count the number of fibrous tubes you can see in a half inch section of the base. Note that the number of fibers will be greater toward the outside wall and smaller toward the inside wall. By doing this you should be able to relate the age of the culm to the look of the culm or at least get a better idea.

I have seen a lot of ways to mark the culm for age, but I am hoping to find a source for colored, uv resistant, open centered disk that I could drop over culms as they emerge from the ground, using a different color for each year. It would be kind of gaudy for the front yard grove, but would serve well in a grove that is to be managed for the purpose of harvesting culms.

From the size you are describing and your location, it sounds like you have a Phyllostachy bamboo. P. n. ‘Henon’, P. bambusoides, P. vivax or P. viridis come to mind.

Michael

[sasa fool]

Michael, you may have already learned of these but twine tied with a specific knot pattern or number of knots is not gaudy to look at. Gaudy to look at is surveyor tape which comes in a myriad of color combinations (solid, striped, polka dotted) that make it easy to create a 'code' and a roll is less than $2. I have used the surveyor tape with a 'sharpie' marking pen recording species, date of all my divisions and they last for years, even the writing hangs in there. I still have some culms that I wrote on in the field 3 years ago with a sharpie and the text remains on the culms despite 3 years weather exposure.

[CaroleMeckes]

Micheal -
I've been pondering and wondering how to tell the age of a culm by counting the number of fibrous tubes...
I've never heard of this method before -

I know that the fibers are thicker on one side of the bamboo - but how does that help to tell the age of the culm?
Carole

Bamboo 101

Try this test. Cut down several culms that you think represent the year of age. Then using a knife, to give a smooth finish whittle off the cut ends and count the number of fibrous tubes you can see in a half inch section of the base. Note that the number of fibers will be greater toward the outside wall and smaller toward the inside wall. By doing this you should be able to relate the age of the culm to the look of the culm or at least get a better idea.

Michael

[Strider_1952]

Carol,

I believe that as the culm ages, especially in the first three to four years, it becomes stronger due to the addition of fibers. I am basing this on WHAT I REMEMBER from a book I read by Dr. Walter Leise titled “Anatomy of a Bamboo Culm”.

Theoretically, one should be able to go into a grove and cut down culms and count the fibers and determine the age of culms in that grove, if one can be sure they are cutting this year’s culm and last year’s culms and then culms from further back.

I am pretty sure of my ability to detect 3+-year-old culms in a P. aurea grove in this area. And what I was trying to point out was that once you know what a three-year-old culm looks like in your grove then it is pretty easy to stay away from the 1 & 2 year old culms.

I am working a lot out of town at present (in Houston), but when I have a chance I will try and do the test here to see what it reveals. I will post my update here.

Best,

Michael

[charndannio]

I was reading a post somewhere on another site and they said you could tell the age by the following.
1- (1 year old bamboo has an emerald color, sheaths just starting to fall off.
2- (2 to 3 year old has white spots on the culm/beginning of lichens
3-(5 to 6 year old you can clearly see the lichens
4-(another way is that each year the bamboo loses its leaves on it's branches and are replaced by new ones leaving a stub at the spot that leaves were at the previous year.

[CaroleMeckes]

(another way is that each year the bamboo loses its branches and are replaced by new ones

Correction this should read:
4-(another way is that each year the bamboo loses its leaves on the branches and the leaves are replaced by new leaves.

When the leaves fall off they leave a little "stub" (on P aurea it is about a quarter inch long) and the new leaf grows just beyond the "stub". Counting the "stubs" gives an indication of the number of times (or years) that the cane has lost and regrown a leaf on its branch. I will find a picture to post to illustrate this.

Carole

[charndannio]

Thanks Carole, my memory isn't what it use to be. charndannio