Over the last 8 weeks, we attempted to answer the question ‘How fast does bamboo grow in a day?’ We identified the growth rate of the running bamboo that we propagated from the rhizome cuttings. Though this work is ongoing, we are excited to reveal the rate at which the bamboo is growing.
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Growing and Caring for Bamboo Plants
We are monitoring the growth rate of the bamboo Phyllostachys vivax f. aureocaulis and Phyllostachys aureosulcata spectabilis to show how fast bamboo grows in the UK.
These two running bamboo plants are common and we hope that their growths will give some answers to the question.
Watch the video on our YouTube channel, here. This video shows how we measured the bamboo plants over the summer when the growth was at its maximum, and calculated the the growth rate.
”Bamboo Phyllostachys aureosulcata spectabilis and Phyllostachys vivax f. aureocaulis grow at a rate of 1.43cm per day according to the mesurements we took.”
Propagate bamboo rhizome cuttings
We propagated the rhizome cuttings from a recent pruning, see the work we wrote about earlier. We also noted that there are several factors that can affect the growth rate. The obvious factors are the changes in seasons. We propagated the bamboo at the end of Summer. The Autumn to Winter conditions can affect the rate of growth.
Another factor that affect that growth of the bamboo plants was slugs eating the leaves. We mitigated successfully by applying Slug and Snail Killer around the new bamboo. In our experience, slugs disturbed the bamboo shoots and leaves from growing. As we added the protection, the bamboo shoots and leaves we left undisturbed.
Phyllostachys vivax f. aureocaulis
How to propagate rhizome cutting in two steps
We propagated the bamboos in a ‘growing medium’ (a bucket with nutrient-rich soil) for 4 weeks, then transplanted the rhizomes cuttings into ‘holding pots’. A two steps propagating technique that gives the cutting a 100 percent chance of growing.
The result, as indicated in the 4th video (link below), was astounding!
How to calculate the growth of bamboo in a day
We calculated how fast bamboo grows in a day by taking the measurements at two weeks intervals. Then, we divided the length by the number of days it took for the new plant to grow.
Bamboo growth rate = length/number of days
The measurements from the 4th and 8th weeks indicated that the new bamboo shoot grows at a rate of 1.43 cm per day.
As mentioned earlier, we propagated the bamboo in two steps, from the ‘growing medium’ to the ‘holding pot’. So, we used the measurements from the ‘holding pots’ to minimise the margin of error.
Find out how fast bamboo grows in a day
Follow GBP’s YouTube channel as we track the progress of the Phyllostachys aureosulcata spectabilis and other bamboo plants we grow.
So far, we have 4 videos, each showing the different stages of propagating bamboo from rhizome cuttings.
- Propagating medium (Video 1, 2 weeks growth)
- Propagating medium (Video 2, 4 weeks growth) New Growth Eaten by Slugs
- Transplanting from Propagating medium to Holding Pot (Video 3, 4 weeks growth)
- Calculating the Growth Rate (Video 4, 8 weeks growth) – how fast does bamboo grow in a day
From our experience, we can confirm that bamboo plants are, indeed, fast-growing plants.
Bamboo is definitely the fastest growing plant.
Bamboo is not the fastest-growing plant, in fact, some varieties can stay dormant for years until the condition is right for them to grow. That means that they do not grow at all – nevertheless, the new bamboo shoots are the ones that tend to grow the fastest. So, bamboo as a plant may not be the fastest growing plant, but the shoots, new branches and roots are rightfully the fastest growing.