Giant Clumping BambooChusquea giganteaHeight: 25' average mature height Zones: 7-8 Find my zone Aspect: partial shade to mostly sun, full sun in cooler climates Watering: needs regular irrigation, about once per week during hot weather Maximum Water: tolerates occasional winter flooding but needs drier soil in the summer Habit: clump forming with multiple stems Foliage: evergreen Growth Rate: fast
This plant can't be shipped to Hawaii
Size Availability
Chusquea gigantea, also often listed as
Chusquea aff. culeou
and
Chusquea breviglumis
, is a potentially very valuable bamboo. It is one of the few clumping timber bamboos hardy enough to be grown in zone 7 or 8, where most other clumpers tend to be far smaller in stature. Older groves can reach 50 feet in height, although 25 to 45 feet with two inch diameter canes is more normal.
One of the greatest assets of
Chusquea gigantea
is that the canes are completely solid, unlike most species of bamboo, making it one of the best species for medium size timber production. The canes are frequently used in construction projects such as building greenhouses and out buildings, as well as smaller crafts such as bamboo door mats or decking.
Out of season.
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall.
Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.
Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out. Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
Production notes: rarely available; low demand coupled with difficult or limited propagation, only produced in years when there is unused propagation space
Like most clumping bamboo species,
C. gigantea
is very quick to establish. We started a grove from a one gallon container which reached fifteen feet tall after two growing seasons, even in heavy clay soil. The root and rhizome structure tends to be much deeper than with other bamboo species, making it more difficult to divide from established plants in the ground. Additionally, plants don't grow in containers very well for several reasons. First, the poorer drainage in a container can cause root rot if the plants are watered too frequently. Second, the roots are heat sensitive and the higher soil temperature of containers will often cause root kill. We use a pot-in-pot system for growing our
Chusquea
species in containers to help avoid the temperature extremes. We recommend that you plant and mulch these plants as soon as you get them to keep them happy and growing like crazy.
New shoots are protected by white sheaths for 1-2 months as the woody material hardens off. 
Chusquea gigantea has many smaller branches surrounding one or three larger central branches, which can grow more than five feet long.  Chusquea gigantea - Giant Clumping Bamboo Source: Commons Related Care InformationPacking Plants For ShippingWe pack our plants depending on the needs of each species and size, most plants ship best with the roots packed in moist sawdust or bark fines but some species don't like root disturbance and are shipped in a soil-less growing media. Excess soil is washed from the roots in preparation for shipping (18-24" White Pines)  Plants are bundled together to fit in boxes  Bundles of plants are secured in long boxes. Plant Sizes 3 gallon Dawn Redwood  Standard quart shrub  Standard 14-18" multi-stem tree size  Standard deep plug pine tree Bamboo Plants Are Shipped In Their ContainersBamboo roots are not flexible and so plants have to be shipped in their containers. These plants are heavier and are shipped separately from bare root plants. Because they are potted they can handle longer transit times so can ship via UPS Ground instead of USPS Air Mail. Potted plants can also be shipped year-round.We regularly top our 1 gallon bamboo plants at 24-30 inches tall throughout the growing season. This results in dense, bushy foliage while allowing for economical shipping. From this size most running species will grow to 5-6 feet tall in the first spring and clumping species will usually grow to 4-5 feet tall.  1 gallon bamboo plants strapped in and ready to be sealed. Unpacking Bare Root PlantsYou will be sent tracking details as soon as your plants are shipped. Unpack your plants as quickly as possible after they are delivered. We use two types of boxes, side-sealing and top-sealing. For boxes that are taped along the whole length you can cut the tape on either side and remove the plant bundles by cutting the tape holding the bundle to the bottom. For boxes that are sealed on the top and bottom, it is easiet to open the bottom of the box (the shipping label is at the top) and pull the bundle of plants out straight out. Check that the box is empty as there can be a second bundle of plants stuck towards the top. A bundle of trees. What if I am not able to plant right away?You can usually leave the plants in their shipping container unopened for 1-2 days if there were no shipping delays and you have received your plants from late November through February. Plants shipped when it is warmer can't stay in their packages for as long.For longer term storage of plants you can pot them up or plant them in rows close together temporarily and then pull them out later in the spring to be planted again. This keeps the roots moist while allowing for air flow to the tops. The roots should have good contact with the soil to ensure they have access to adequate moisture. |
Size Availability
Out of season.
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall.
Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.
Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out. Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
Production notes: rarely available; low demand coupled with difficult or limited propagation, only produced in years when there is unused propagation space
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Red Panda Nursery
