A Stroll through the Garden: Bamboo and tiger grass are not prima donnas

A few years ago, I got an unusual email from Queensland, Australia. I also got a question about having bamboo as a ground cover this week. Seems this fellow has been reading my column for some time. I believe he knows about my love for bamboo and grasses.

He had a question about watering and caring for his tropical tiger grass. The person said he divided this grass in two and it seem to dry out. With some plants all you need to do is throw whatever on the ground and they catch. Other plants you need to put some effort in bringing them along.

Finally, there are the prima donna plants that you have to tend to every need and desire for years or they will shrivel up and die and no longer make their wonderfully scented music for you. Be assured bamboo and most grasses are not prima donnas, for the most part, and the key is the term “most part.”

Tiger grass, or Thysanolaena latifolia, so far as I’m concerned looks a lot like a kind of bamboo but is a grass and is frequently planted with bamboos. The basic principles can be the same in that they are in the same family. Tiger grass must be planted in a well-drained, organically rich soil with full sun like most bamboos. If you have planted this grass in a clay type soil you can actually drown the plant.

One of the other concerns I have is there are a number of wilt diseases that a plant can catch. If I were there and I were to discover you have planted everything in an ideal location, then I would go in the direction of a disease.

The reader's next question was about them progressing toward the fall while we were in April. Sounds like the plants are in stress because of the heat. The plantlets you’ve divided from the mother plant may just take some time to get caught up. Summer can be a poor time to transplant new plants.

I like to test plants and see how they will grow before I recommend growing them. As I have been growing bamboo and ornamental grasses in my yard for 15-plus years, I now feel confident in talking about them from a personal experience point of view.

I have grown two clumping bamboos that are native to China, Fargesia nitida Blue Fountain and a Fargesia rufa or Rufa Bamboo. I was in The Greenhouse Shoppe last week and saw a Rufa Bamboo for sale. These two clumping bamboos are some of the easiest and best-behaved bamboos on the market. The only bamboo that has died in my care is the Blue Fountain. It was the hardest for me to keep going.

Over two seasons I watered and did my best to help the plant to grow, but the third year it was gone. As I was going through the current grower’s catalog where I purchase my bamboo, this has been over seven years of them not carrying this Blue Fountain Bamboo. Five other varieties of bamboo have done from moderately well to really well. I can say most grasses are great for brown thumb people.

When I planted bamboos, I had enhanced the soil with good topsoil, animal compost and leaf compost. One of the keys is the soil was well broken up. Bamboo and most grasses are heavy feeders, therefore they need rich soil. I have not done very much to protect the bamboos or the gardens from the bullies. Professionally, I shall not plant any bamboo without a barrier unless I know the complete circumstances of the site and the person who will be caring for the bamboo, because normal bamboo can encroach on the neighbor’s property.

I also mulched the bamboo two inches deep around the area where the plants were sited. Mulch seems to protect the bamboo and grasses from the heat and the cold and reduces the water problems. In the spring when the bamboo stems or culms begin growing you would do well to top dress the areas around the plants with a good animal and leaf compost

Keep in mind both bamboo and grass need water until the soil is moist but not soggy. Bamboos and grasses that I have range from dense shade to partial shade to full sun, but I have tried to apply the plant to where I understood the bamboo or grass would do well and achieved a level of success.

In conclusion you should be patient, listen to the nursery staff where you originally bought the plant and you can enjoy your tiger grass or bamboo for many years.

Hope you enjoy your stroll through your garden this week. You can reach me with your questions at ericlarson546@yahoo.com. Please visit my website at ohealthyfoodcoop.org and find the link to the blog A Stroll Through the Garden. Thank you for participating in our column.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: A Stroll through the Garden: Bamboo, tiger grass are not prima donnas