Worth knowing:
The Great Thorny Bamboo belongs botanically to the grass family and is due to its limited frost-hardness usually cultivated in a tub, where it grows not more than two meters high. However, in its natural habitat it can become up to 35 meters. The stalks with its hairy sprouts are green coloured at first and turn into dark-brown or dark-blue in matured plants. With age it also develops the thorns that give the Great Thorny Bamboo its name. The plant can be pruned easily, and it can be kept outdoors until late autumn since it tolerates short light frosty periods as well.
Natural Location:
The Great Thorny Bamboo can largely be found in South- and South East Asia as well as in tropical Africa and Madagascar.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you can place the seeds initially for about 24 hours in a bowl with lukewarm water for priming. Then, gently press the seeds into moist potting compost, put just a little compost earth on top and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 25° and 30° Celsius (for example near the heater) and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Usually, it takes about two to three weeks until germination.
Place:
As a tropical plant, the Great Thorny Bamboo likes warm temperatures above 20° Celsius all year long, while it prefers a half-shaded to a full sunny spot. During summer, it can also be kept in a warm and wind-protected place, ideally near a heat-preserving wall.
Care:
The Great Thorny Bamboo needs to be watered regularly and penetratingly, but without waterlogging. You can give fertilizer for bamboo- or grass plants, preferably in April and June, but not more than once or twice a year since the plant grows naturally already rather fast. Stalks that grow too big can be capped sideways, so the plant will develop new sprouts to the side. Like with most bamboo plants, you need to place a rhizome barrier to contain the uncontrolled spreading of the roots. This is of course only necessary in warmer regions, where the Great Thorny Bamboo can be planted out - in tub cultivation the pot makes the barrier.
During the winter:
The Great Thorny Bamboo is not frost-hard and tolerates only very short periods with temperatures up to -7° Celsius. It best hibernates in a warm and bright place. Water the plant normally at the beginning of winter, and only modestly during the cold season, just so the roots don’t dry out. Withered leaves should only be cut next spring, when the stalks are finished sprouting.
Picture credits:
- © © 1. H.Zell 2. Tristan Schmurr - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © H.Zell - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Tristan Schmurr - CC-BY-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 - . -
