architectural bamboo research chicago

[holmedw]

I am an architecture student with a project in the city of Chicago. I am planning to propose a project located on the mouth of the chicago river. This proposal includes cultivating bamboo on site. For this projects I have a few questions I would like to ask. Please feel free to contribute to my research by answering a few questions. Thank you.

1. What is the best species of bamboo to grow in a temperate climate like chicago, where summers and winters are equally severe. How does the cold winter effect the cultivation of the bamboo.

2. When does the type of species listed above harvest?(season)

3. I have read that bamboo, when harvested, can grow upto 15 meters in one year. Is this possible in a city like Chicago?

4. What should I know about the soil before I propose to grow there? ph,contaminates, boring samples?

5.What type of soil does bamboo grow on? I have read that bamboo can grow well in really harsh conditions around human and animal waste, which can be considered to be fertilized nitrogen.

6. What species bamboo would be recommended from structural reasons.

7. Does bamboo create a sound when wind blows through bamboo.

[Mark Meckes]

Hi holmedw,
Thanks for writing! This is quite a lot of info your after, and thanks for presenting it this way.
Do you have a specific location in mind or are you just researching the possibilities.
Can you provide some info on the average minimum temp, and is the location an open exposed area or are there various micro-climates etc?

There are quite a lot of bamboos that will grow in your area... some only grow a few inches tall, some are shrub-like, some require shade, a few may grow to 20 ft tall if protected from dessicating winds etc, and of course they all enjoy co-mingling amongst other types of plants!

You won't be able to grow 15 m tall plants in your area.
Yes, bamboo is very upwardly mobile during it's shooting season for a couple months of the year. After that the culm never grows any taller or thicker, but just produces more leaves each year. If the environment is perfectly suited to it's needs, each year a new planting will produce additional larger and taller culms till it's optimum is reached.
Climate can also affectively restrict a bamboo's ability to reach it's optimum height and stature, and this is where micro-climates come into the picture.

I used to grow about 50 species of bamboo in the Mts of Pennsylvania, though many of them had a greatly diminished stature compared to how the grow a little further south.
I'll be glad to discuss this more when I get a chance.

All the best with your project!
Mark
Feel free to also post some of your questions in as new threads, particularly #4 -7 as it will provide an opportunity to better address a specific issue.