Bamboo buildings from Vo Trong Nghia
Vo Trong Nghia is known for his work with bamboo buildings. This time, the Vietnamese architect completed the conference room project using two types of bamboo.
The facility is located near the central part of the city of Danang port and is part of the Naman Retreat Resort, which consists of hotels, health resorts, occupying more than 3 square hectares. The conference room is located in the first building; it immediately catches your eye upon entering the resort.
Bamboo miracle
This place is simply magical, especially at night when the falling light highlights the structure of the bamboo. The conference hall is designed for 300 people and is intended for holding various events, concerts, meetings and lectures. Although the layout is quite simple, the building itself is clad in bamboo, which also supports the thatched roof.
The roof rests on bamboo beams
Hall in the form of a bamboo arch
Bent bamboo beams form an adjacent corner
The height of the hall is 9.5 meters and the width is 13.5. It was decided to use bamboo in a large, open space to save money and time without sacrificing quality.
Bamboo lamps
In fact, the conference room consists of two parts:
- an enclosed space with glass and concrete walls;
- a room whose base stands on bamboo roofs.
Second part of the conference room
Part two in the evening
The architects of this structure explained why they used two types of bamboo:
“Luong bamboo was chosen as the support because of its strength and length, which can reach up to 8 meters. The arches were made from flexible Tam Vong bamboo. The design follows the characteristics of each type, combining them in the most effective way."
Bamboo columns
This conference room project, however, like other works by Nghia, is another example that crosses out the usual ideas about bamboo structures.
At the mention of cereals, everyone sees fields of golden wheat, bluish-green tracts of rye, hundreds of hectares of spinous barley and other grain crops before their eyes.
Who would think that the brother of these low-growing cereals, squat to the eye of an arborist, could be a fifty-meter tree with a mighty slender trunk of one or even two girths?
We are talking about a resident of tropical and subtropical forests - bamboo.
In Europe, this plant has been known since the times of Alexander the Great’s campaigns in India, where the warriors of the famous commander were amazed at the sight of previously unseen bamboo forests. A Jesuit missionary who visited China in 1615 wrote that the Chinese use iron-hard reed (bamboo) for 600 different household needs.
In the Soviet Union, bamboos began to be cultivated only 60-70 years ago. They were first imported from Southern and Western Europe, and later were brought to our country by the botanical expedition of Professor Krasnov directly from their homeland, from East Asia. Since that time, bamboos have acclimatized well with us. In the Soviet Union there are now about 50 species, among which the tallest ones reach 20 meters in height with stems up to 15 centimeters thick.
On the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, real green tunnels form thickets of this woody grass, reminiscent of the golden-green walls of giant straws. In addition to the Caucasus, bamboos grow here (albeit not so successfully) on the coast of Crimea, where they can be seen in decorative plantings in parks from Feodosia to Evpatoria. Most often found here is bluish-green bamboo, reaching a height of 12 meters. Castigliona bamboo, grown in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden near Yalta, is especially interesting and original for its decorativeness. Muscovites, Leningraders, Kyivians and residents of other cities and villages of our country have the opportunity to get acquainted with these interesting plants in the greenhouses of their botanical gardens or in the Soviet subtropics. And these amazing cereals deserve to know each other! Bamboo is related to wheat, rye, and barley by the same type of fruit (referred to in botany as a "caryopsis"), the structure of the inflorescence (in the language of specialists - an ear or a brush) and stem-straw. True, bamboo straws are no match for wheat or rye straws; moreover, they vary not only in size, but also in shape and even color. (Sometimes they grow only up to a meter in height and are only as thick as a finger, but there are also those that can successfully compete in size with very large forest trees).
The cross section of bamboo straw (depending on the type) can be round, oval, multi-faceted and even square. The color of the trunks of most bamboos from a young age is always bluish-gray (in “bamboo chicks” up to 1 year), then green, “adolescent” (up to 2 years), and in mature ones it is predominantly golden-yellow, less often dark brown or black. But in general, the structure of bamboo straw is no different from that of wheat, rye or other well-known cereals. The culm of bamboo, however, like other cereals, is evenly divided by transverse partitions - nodes, and between the nodes it is always hollow. The hollowness of bamboo stems has long been used by humans in the manufacture of vessels, unique bamboo pipes and other products, but the woodpecker does not understand its nature. Every time he knocks on the trunk and senses hollowness, he begins to busily hammer away at the trunk in search of prey. However, he is always deceived, again and again falling for the “bamboo bait”. Such work, which is useless for a woodpecker, is especially harmful for a person, since it disfigures, rendering unusable, many valuable bamboo trunks.
Botanists count about 600 species of bamboo plants, grouped into almost 50 genera. It is not surprising that in such a large family, along with giants, there are also dwarf bushes. The most characteristic feature of most bamboos is their unusually rapid growth and ability to continuously conquer more and more new territories. Bamboo easily overcomes specially dug ditches, crosses deep streams and canals along the bottom, and passes through many difficult obstacles. Only a serious obstacle can stop its rapid spread. Some types of bamboo grow in the spring, others only in the fall. The process of growth in them, unlike most plant species, occurs not only during the day, but also at night. In spring and autumn, in the deep silence of the night, you can even hear how this cereal grows. The energy of its growth is so significant that the appearance of shoots on the surface of the earth is always accompanied by a dull, peculiar noise, and sometimes a loud crash. Nothing can serve as an obstacle to the young, finely pointed shoots of bamboo, which easily pierce the hardest soil and asphalt, dislodge stones to the side, and pierce through thick boards and even logs. Sometimes you can literally see the bamboo growing. In the Caucasus, there are trees of this species that can rise three centimeters in an hour, and 75 centimeters in a day. Well, in their homeland, Vietnam, for example, they are real growth champions: bamboo here often soars to a height of almost two meters in a day!
There are many funny stories told in this regard. The hero of one such popular joke is a certain unlucky hunter who wandered for a long time in search of prey and fell asleep from fatigue in a bamboo grove. Waking up from a premonition of trouble, the hunter saw a huge tiger in front of him. And the gun, carelessly left on the ground, had by this time been lifted several meters into the air by a tall bamboo shoot that had emerged from the ground. The hunter had to apologize to the tiger...
How can we explain this unusual property of bamboo? It turns out that it grows with all its numerous internodes at the same time. Even in the bud, its shoot-trunk is already fully formed and, as it were, only reduced by hundreds and thousands of times. And when it begins to grow, it seems to stretch with each fold - internode, like the fur of an accordion, and with a speed unprecedented in all flora it takes on the size of a large tree. It is interesting that of all the internodes of the shoot-trunk, the lowest ones grow most quickly, precisely those that are closest to the roots. Internodes, located near the top of the stem, apparently smaller and not primarily provided with nutrition, grow much more slowly.
The following fact may seem incredible: bamboo only grows for 30-45 days throughout its life. But he often lives up to a hundred years. It is during these 30-45 days that bamboo reaches its height limit, after which growth stops. But at this time he is “busy” with the formation of his crown, which is uniformly dressed in an outfit of light green lanceolate leaves.
Bamboo also blooms in a unique way. It is observed only once in a lifetime. What is especially interesting is the synchronicity of the process for all the inhabitants of the bamboo forest. In other words, no matter how many trees there are in the forest, they, as if obeying the command of a certain wizard, bloom at the same time. But different types of bamboo bloom for different durations. Some of them bloom for one summer, others for two or three seasons, and some species bloom without a break for nine years. Not all species have roots that remain alive after flowering (over time they grow into a new bamboo forest); most die completely. This is how interesting and long-lasting the flowering of bamboos is! But as soon as the flowering ends and the fruits ripen, the entire bamboo forest, like ripe bread, completely dies.
Most bamboos are very demanding of moisture and especially heat. The slightest cold snap with a temperature just below zero is destructive for them. This is why bamboo grows wild mainly in the tropics and subtropics of East Asia, Africa and America. However, there are also species that can easily tolerate frosts of 20 or even 40 degrees. True, these are, as a rule, small-sized plants, which include the champions of frost resistance among bamboo relatives - dwarf bamboos, or saz. They are found here on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, where they sometimes form vast dense thickets. However, saz also grow in the southern steppe regions of Moldova, Kuban, and Ukraine. Another interesting biological property of bamboos is that their pointed shoots, emerging from the ground, are as thick as a fully mature plant! And no matter how later these shoots grow, no matter how hard they harden or change their color, their thickness always remains the same.
A young, immature bamboo trunk also has its own curious characteristics. It once again confirms that this tree belongs to cereal and herbaceous plants. Despite its considerable thickness, you can very easily, with one stroke of a knife, cut off its thick, fleshy stem. Try to overcome a mature trunk. Not only can you not cut it, but even the sharpest saw cannot easily be sawed through. Such is the powerful life force of bamboo.
The bamboo forest makes an unusual impression when you first meet it. On the hottest day it is cool and dark here, like evening twilight. Towards the end of the day, when air humidity in the subtropics increases significantly, bamboo intensively releases water. Numerous droplets quickly and thickly cover its leaves, branches, and shoots. A light blow of wind is enough for the burdened plants to burst into a real downpour.
Bamboo wood happily combines extraordinary strength with remarkably light weight. Amazing rot resistance - with beautiful appearance. Enter the first hut you come across in a Vietnamese village, and you will see that its frame and the piles on which it sits are made of thick bamboo trunks, the walls and floor are woven from its bark, and the roof is a flooring of bamboo leaves.
“Actually, when describing such a house,” says journalist G. Borovik, who visited Vietnam, “you don’t need to use the word “bamboo” - literally everything here is made of bamboo: small and deep rice bowls, shoulder baskets, fishing nets, sieves, mats , smoking pipes, buckets, glasses and many, many other household items. Not a single metal nail is used in the construction of the hut. All components are connected by a flexible outer layer of the plant. Bamboo is extremely durable, lightweight, grows quickly and, most importantly, is almost undamaged. rotting. Excellent material!" Many valuable household products can be made unusually quickly from bamboo stems.
Judge for yourself: as soon as a tall, thin “bamboo tree” is cut down and the top and crown are cut off, there is a ready-made (even polished!) mast or column in front of you: break through the partitions in its joints - and an excellent pipe is at your service, cut the whole trunk into parts - and at your disposal are pots, buckets, glasses, pots, bowls and other utensils; If you cut off a whole internode with two intact partitions at the nodes, then all that remains is to drill a hole on top, just like a barrel is already ready, and by splitting it in half, you get two small troughs at once.
And that is why bamboo is so revered by the inhabitants of Southeast Asia. But they also make edged weapons from it: knives, daggers, pikes, and they protect villages from animals and enemies with a bamboo palisade disguised in the grass (sticking its pointed stems around the dwellings with the tip towards the forest). The art of carving that exists among these peoples is also associated with bamboo. In places where bamboo naturally grows, peoples have achieved amazing success in it.
Finally, young bamboo shoots are used for food, making an excellent substitute for vegetables (for example, asparagus), and delicious oriental delicacies are prepared from them: achar and asiya. Sweet juice is extracted from the stems, which is boiled with bamboo sugar. Bamboo fibers are used to make excellent Chinese silk paper. Lanterns, musical instruments, and rafts are made from bamboo. By the way, in the “Venice of Asia,” as Bangkok (the capital of Thailand) is often called, entire streets of houses rest entirely on bamboo rafts.
Bamboo also plays a unique role as a “firearm.” When its fresh stems burn, sharp and loud sounds are heard, like gun shots. This property has long been used by people to scare away animals. The natives also make their primitive “air rifles” - sumpatans - from bamboo. These are thin bamboo trunks from which poisoned arrows are shot at animals and game.
Bamboo wood is extremely widely used in other countries. It is used to make comfortable furniture, excellent paper, even high-quality record needles. Bamboo is used for fencing, for the construction of light bridges, and for the production of numerous sports equipment.
In modern construction, bamboo is also successfully used as reinforcement for concrete structures. And in some species, young stems and roots are even suitable for eating fresh or stewed. (Sometimes bamboo seeds are also used as food.) An extraordinary cereal. Extraordinarily useful.
Indoor bamboo has nothing in common with the one that grows in the wild. Their differences are visible to the naked eye. Wild bamboo is considered a grass, but despite this, it can reach a height of up to 40 meters. At home, they grow a miniature plant that belongs to the genus Dracaena and is called Dracaena sandera or dragon tree.
General information
Bamboo is a plant with a bare stem, which only has several branches with leaves on top. The trunk of bamboo can be either straight or curved in the form of a spiral. Most often, the domestic variety of bamboo has a green tint, but there are also types with golden foliage and stems.
The Chinese believe that bamboo brings good luck and material well-being. If you adhere to the philosophy of Feng Shui, then this plant should definitely appear in your home, as it will not only bring prosperity, but will also diversify your flower collection with exoticism and beauty.
Types and varieties of bamboo
Bamboo Indoor - is a miniature plant with a smooth or spiral-shaped bare trunk with shoots and leaf blades at the top. Bamboo leaves are hard and glossy. They have an elongated lanceolate shape and a light green tint. At home, the plant rarely blooms, but if this happens, it throws out a long arrow with white, pleasantly smelling inflorescences. Peduncles appear in mid-summer.
- is an evergreen semi-shrub perennial with a bare trunk, on the top of which leafy shoots grow. The leaf blades are hard and dense, with a rich green tint. The plant blooms extremely rarely. Flowering time occurs in mid-summer.
– bamboo of this species grows up to 20 meters in the wild. The thick, knotty stem has a bright yellow tint with green stripes and rich green glossy, elastic leaf plates. This plant rarely blooms. There are no seeds. It is propagated by bush division.
– the natural habitat of the plant is Nepal and the Himalayas. This type of bamboo grows in the form of a bush, consisting of individual plant trunks. This variety can grow up to 40 meters in length and has a thick, flexible and slightly gnarled stem. The leaf blades are hard, glossy, dark green. In nature, the plant blooms extremely rarely and often dies after that.
This type of indoor plant can grow up to 300 centimeters in length. It has thick, gnarled, dark green stems with thin branches and lush, green, glossy foliage. Bamboo does not bloom indoors, but it has excellent decorative properties.
– This variety is known as giant bamboo. This plant is very popular in the USA. The bamboo stems are dark green in color and slightly knotty. They are elastic and can reach a height of up to 40 meters. Bamboo branches are short with lush, green, glossy leaf plates. The plant blooms extremely rarely, since flowering greatly depletes it and leads to death.
– The natural habitat of this plant is tropical Asia and the Philippines. This type of bamboo can be compared to blackthorn. It can grow either as a bush or as single individuals. The stems of bamboo are thin gray-green. They bear branches with dark green foliage and small spines. Spiny bamboo does not bloom or bear fruit.
– grows in Indochina, Tibet and Iraq. Its stems are used to make paper. Young bamboo trunks are bright green, but after several years they become light gray and knotty. The trunk is covered with sparse thin branches with green foliage, which become denser towards the top of the trunk. In rare cases, bamboo throws out a flower shoot, which is covered with white, pleasantly smelling inflorescences. However, most often, flowering leads to depletion of the plant and its possible death.
– The plant grows in Bangladesh and Australia. Bamboo reaches a height of 8 to 15 meters. The trunk of the evergreen plant is almost bare, knotty, and of a rich green hue. A large number of shoots are formed closer to the top. They are covered with tough, sharp, green leaf blades. Only mature plants bloom, after which they often die.
Bamboo indoor care at home
Growing bamboo at home is not difficult, the main thing is to follow a number of rules and then you will be able to grow a healthy and beautiful plant that will become a real pearl of your flower collection.
Dracaena sandera can be grown both in soil and in water. Wide, slightly flattened pots, similar to bowls, are suitable for bamboo. The plant should be properly fertilized, watered and yellow leaf blades removed; if these rules are not followed, it may die.
Bamboo is a very light-loving crop. Light affects not only its growth and development, but also the color of the leaves and the height of the stems. Despite the fact that dracaena loves light, it should be protected from direct sunlight to avoid burns.
However, lack of light also negatively affects the plant, it becomes dull and slows down growth. Bamboo, deprived of solar energy, begins to reach for the sun, its stems become crooked and unattractive, and its leaves become faded and turn yellow.
Dracaena Sander requires moderate temperature conditions. The plant does not like drafts. For its normal growth, the temperature should range from 18 to 30 degrees. Temperature readings should not deviate from the norm, otherwise the bamboo may get sick.
Humidity, as well as temperature, should be moderate. In the hot season it should be 50%, and in the cold season 35%. To ensure comfortable conditions, you need to place an air humidifier next to the dracaena, and also spray the leaf plates with a sprayer. If the plant does not have enough moisture, its trunks will begin to crack and the dracaena will dry out.
Dracaena is a member of the Agave family. It can be grown with care at home without any problems if you follow the rules of agricultural technology. You can find all the necessary recommendations in this article.
Growing bamboo in water or in soil
As mentioned above, the plant can be grown both in water and in soil.
When growing dracaena in the ground, you should pay attention to the pot for planting, since the size and height of the bamboo will depend on how freely the root system grows in the container.
Since the plant is usually planted in small pots, bamboo stems do not grow tall, and they are also thin and less knotty than tall bamboo. To achieve miniaturization, dracaena should be replanted every three years, completely changing the soil.
The soil for the plant must be breathable with good drainage. Watering dracaena in the ground should be moderate, but you should not over-water it, as this will lead to rotting of the root system and death of the plant.
You can also grow bamboo in water or hydrogel. But in this case, it should not be planted in an ordinary pot, but in something like a large test tube or glass vase. To plant a plant in water, the roots should be washed and inspected for damage. Then the plant needs to be moved into a glass container and carefully filled with pre-boiled pebbles.
When using hydrogel, the plant must be placed in a container for its further growth, pour the hydrogel into it and fill it with distilled water. It is best to choose a gel with small granules, as it will not allow the root system to be exposed and it will not dry out.
Caring for dracaena in hydrogel is simple. It is enough to add settled water to the container once every few weeks and feed the plant once every six months.
Watering bamboo
Dracaena needs regular watering, but it will depend on where exactly the plant is grown. If it grows in water, then the liquid must cover the roots. The water in the container with bamboo should be changed to distilled water every week.
Bamboo in the ground should be watered once every three days, and spraying should also be carried out at the same time interval. Even if the top layer of soil has dried out, there is no need to increase watering; you must adhere to the specified interval so as not to cause rotting of the root system.
Soil for bamboo
Dracaena Sandera will grow much better in soil than in water. This feature is due to the fact that bamboo does not really like it when the root system is in liquid for a long time, and water does not stay in the ground for long.
You can choose any soil mixture for growing bamboo, the main thing is that it is loose and allows water and air to pass through well. In a flower shop, you can ask the seller to select a suitable soil or make it from washed sand and 1/3 peat moss.
In general, any well-draining soil with an acidity between 5.5 and 6.5 pH will do. After planting the plant, the soil should be lightly pressed to remove air and watered.
Transplanting bamboo
Replanting should be done in the spring every year. If a gardener grows large varieties of plants, then they need to be replanted every three years. It is very important to choose the right pot for replanting. The root system should not come into contact with its walls; there should be a distance between them of 5 to 7 centimeters. During replanting, you should change not only the container, but also the soil mixture due to the fact that it loses its nutritional properties over the course of a year.
When the dracaena is four years old, the frequency of transplantation should be reduced to once every three years. The soil mixture for bamboo should consist of either loam and humus, or moss and washed sand. Drainage is also a very important parameter when replanting; it should be placed at the bottom of the pot in a layer of 3 centimeters.
After transplantation, the plant acclimatizes for one and a half months, after which it begins to develop as usual.
Fertilizer for bamboo
Dracaena sandera should be fed with both mineral and organic fertilizers. It is best to buy fertilizer at a flower shop intended for dracaenas; it is ideal for bamboo, as it will be rich in the substances it needs.
In autumn and winter, fertilizing should be reduced to 1 time. In the warm season, bamboo needs to be fed once a month.
Bamboo blossom
The plant blooms once in its life. Since this process takes almost all the dracaena’s strength, most often it dies after this. However, it should be noted that indoor bamboo blooms extremely rarely. If this happens, the gardener notices an arrow on which, over time, white inflorescences with a very pleasant aroma appear.
Observations have shown that most often flowering occurs in the summer. If the bamboo still blooms, but the gardener does not want the plant to die, the flower shoot should be carefully removed and the cut area should be treated with charcoal.
Bamboo trimming
Bamboo tolerates pruning well, so the grower can shape it the way he wants. However, pruning and shaping should only be done when the plant has taken root and is completely healthy.
The procedure is carried out as follows:
- First, dry and excess stems located at ground level are removed.
- The stems are then fixed at a certain height and cut above the branching point. This must be done so that the stem stops growing upward.
- At the end, to give the plant a decorative appearance, you need to remove excess shoots.
If the grower wants the plant to grow vertically, he should regularly thin out the branches. Dracaena Sandera can be either straight-trunked or have a spiral-shaped trunk, everything will depend on the type of bamboo.
Caring for bamboo in winter
With the onset of winter, bamboo enters a dormant period, which means caring for the plant changes slightly. This concerns watering; it should be carried out once every five days, combining moisture with spraying.
The temperature in winter should not fall below +18, and humidity - below 35%. You should also provide additional lighting to the dracaena by purchasing a phytolamp for it. At the end of the winter period, bamboo care returns to normal.
Bamboo from seeds at home
Dracaena Sander is propagated by seed, cuttings and apical shoots. It is extremely difficult to propagate bamboo using apical shoots, especially if the grower does not have experience in this. The same applies to the seed method.
You can grow a plant from seeds in open ground; it is almost impossible to propagate cultivated varieties indoors. The chances of germination are extremely low. In addition, sowing seeds, the appearance of sprouts and caring for them is a labor-intensive and very lengthy process. Therefore, gardeners prefer to propagate bamboo using cuttings. This method is the simplest and most accessible.
Propagation of bamboo by cuttings at home
Dracaena should be propagated by cuttings in the spring. For planting, it is necessary to use young branches that appear on a plant that has reached maturity. Planting material should be separated from the stem and planted in the ground so that it takes root.
The soil mixture for rooting should be the same as for planting the plant. Since bamboo grows very quickly, roots will appear within a month. The pot for cuttings should be spacious and medium in height, since after some time it will be completely filled with the roots of the planting material.
To make propagation easier, it is often combined with replanting mature bamboo, which is carried out once a year. The growing season is not only a favorable time for transplantation, but also for cuttings. Also, do not forget that after transplanting the cuttings into the ground, they should be carefully looked after in order to avoid problems with the growth and development of young plants in the future.
Diseases and pests
Bamboo can only get sick if it is not cared for properly. If dark spots begin to appear on the leaf blades of the plant , then most likely, the dracaena began to develop a disease of fungal etiology, which was caused by waterlogging of the soil. To cope with it, it is necessary to treat the plant with a special fungicide, reduce watering and ventilate the room more often.
When the plant develops slowly and the stem or leaves turn yellow may suggest a lack of nutrients. In this case, bamboo can be helped by correct and dosed feeding with a special fertilizer, which can be purchased at a flower shop.
If the gardener notices that the leaf plates of the dracaena have begun to crumble, darken and become soft , this means the plant is kept at the wrong temperature. The normal temperature for growth and development is considered to be 18-30 degrees.
The plant can also be threatened by pests such as aphids and spider mites. If the grower notices cobwebs or sticky leaf blades , he should carefully examine the dracaena for the presence of these insects. If they are detected, it is necessary to remove damaged leaves and spray the plant with the Aktara insecticide according to the instructions on the package.
Proper care of bamboo will completely eliminate the occurrence of pests and diseases listed above.
Why does indoor bamboo turn yellow?
Dracaena Sandera is an evergreen plant that periodically sheds its leaves. First, the leaf blades turn yellow and then fall off, and this is absolutely normal. Most leaves fall in the spring. However, the natural feature of the plant does not always lead to leaf fall.
Yellowing of bamboo foliage can occur as a result of:
- Lack of nutrients in soil or water;
- Excessive application of fertilizers;
- Lack of moisture and light;
- Insufficient drainage;
- Incorrect temperature conditions;
- Low air humidity;
- Drafts;
- Watering with unsettled water.
If no violations were made in caring for the plant, then the yellowing is the preparation of the bamboo for shedding old foliage, which will soon be replaced by new ones.
Bamboo in the house - signs and superstitions
Bamboo is highly valued in China due to a number of its magical properties. According to Feng Shui philosophy, the plant brings good luck, financial well-being and health to the house.
For Dracaena sandera to “work”, it should be placed in the south-eastern part of the home. However, if there is little light there, then it is necessary to additionally illuminate the bamboo using a phytolamp, otherwise it may simply die. If a florist wants to attract love into his life, he should place bamboo in the bedroom; if he wants to confidently walk up the career ladder, he should place dracaena in the office.
The number of bamboo stems also determines its influence on a particular area of human life. A plant with three stems brings good luck in all endeavors. Bamboo with 5 stems can improve personal life, and dracaena with 7 stems will make its owner healthy and successful. If a gardener wants to improve all aspects of life, he should get a dracaena with 21 stems.
To enhance the magical properties of bamboo, it must be supplemented with a three-legged frog with a coin in its mouth or a special Chinese vase depicting the sacred animals of the Land of the Rising Sun. The frog should be placed in close proximity to the plant, but only not high, otherwise it will “work” in the opposite direction, bringing failure and poverty.
Conclusion
Growing bamboo is not difficult, the main thing is to create the right microclimate for it and provide proper care. Then the dracaena will not only attract good luck to its owner’s house, but will also become an element of unusual living decor that will not leave anyone indifferent.
The bamboo plant is a giant grass. The bamboo subfamily (Bambusoideae) is part of the grass family. Bamboo is related to cereals (wheat, rye, barley) by the same type of fruit, called a caryopsis in botany, and the structure of flowers and straw stems. At the same time, culms are more often called stems or even trunks due to their large size in many types of bamboo.
Next in the classification is the supertribe Bambusodae, then the tribes Olyreae (non-lignified) and Bambuseae (lignified). In turn, lignified tribes Bambuseae are divided into 9 subtribes, and further into 77 genera.
Bambusa plants are one such genera and include 37 species. They have the longest and most massive trunks (straws), hence they are of greater economic interest than other species. The most recognizable species is the common bamboo (lat. Bambusa vulgaris).
Plant structure
The Bambusa plant has aboveground and underground parts. Young shoots emerging from the ground are shaped like cobs. As they grow, a stem (trunk, straw) is formed. This is the above-ground part. The stem gradually becomes woody and changes color from green to yellow-brown.
Shoots on which leaves are located extend from the stem. In those places where the shoots emerge from the stem, thickenings form. They are called nodes, and the parts of the trunk between the nodes are called internodes.
The so-called bamboo wood is obtained from the stem. From a scientific point of view, this name is incorrect, but it is often used in technological processes.
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth. On average, a young plant grows upward by 10 cm per day, but there are references to 50 cm and one meter of daily growth. Unlike trees, it can grow to its full height in one season.
The secret of rapid growth is that growth occurs simultaneously with all its internodes. The structure of the trunk is already formed in its bud and the whole plant seems to be stretching simultaneously with all its internodes. Their growth rate is uneven and decreases from the root to the top. The nodes also enlarge (thicken).
The stem has a fibrous structure. This property is used to obtain fiber from which fabric is made for clothing, curtains and other home decoration. True, not all yarn is produced mechanically; a significant part is man-made fibers called viscose.
The rhizome and roots are the underground part of the bamboo plant. The rhizome is located horizontally, and the roots extend from it vertically downwards. On the rhizome, buds form directly in the ground, which transform into sprouts that go up.
In the “behavior” of its rhizome, bamboo resembles a raspberry. It carries out its expansion in breadth precisely with the help of rhizomes. Just like raspberries, it causes problems for neighbors when it steps outside the owner's property.
Few species bloom annually. Most species bloom once every 60-120 years.
Reproduction
The bamboo plant reproduces quite quickly. Under natural conditions, reproduction occurs through rhizomes.
The second natural method of propagation is by seeds, which is quite rare. As mentioned above, bamboo blooms very rarely and not all species produce seeds. But some amateurs practice this as well.
On plantations and at home, propagation is carried out by dividing the bush. First, the roots are dug up and several strong root shoots are separated. Each of them should have 2-3 shoots (nodules) and several thin roots. The shoots are planted in good soil. After planting, regular watering is necessary. The earth should be constantly moist, but without stagnant water in it.
Appearance
The appearance of the bamboo plant is elegant due to its wedge-shaped leaves and unusual stem. Therefore, Eastern artists loved to paint it and poets and writers mentioned it in literary works. Especially, it occupies a large place in the art of East Asian countries.
The combination of soothing colors (green and yellow) attracts a person’s gaze to it even more. In the photo, the bamboo plant looks beautiful, but not as sublime as in the pictures.
Due to its beautiful appearance, bamboo is often used in decorative landscaping in some countries.
The appearance of the plant is formed mainly by cutting off the branches and the top of the trunk.
