Thursday, August 20, 2009

Bamboo vs. Paulownia


I suppose since I mentioned bamboo, I should also mention the contest between my paulownia tree and my timber bamboo. Both are rather young. I bought the paulownia on eBay. The first year it grew up, the second, it branched, and the third year it bloomed. Unsastified with its height, I chopped it down to the ground this spring when it started budding. Interestingly, the severed tree continued to grow for about two months. Meanwhile, a new shoot began growing from the base of the stump. It soon was growing about 2 inches a day.

After a couple months, my Bambusa oldhamii sprouted. It didn't shoot at all last year, so I was pleasantly surprised when it started shooting early this year.

The new culm on the bamboo quickly started growing 6 inches or more a day. So I decided to keep a log to see if it could catch up to the paulownia. So far it hasn't, but it's come within a few inches.

2 comments:

  1. The paulownia we have in Panama grow 9 inches a week in the rainy season. If you would like more information on growing paulownia you may read www.paulownianow.org and www.panampro.com

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    1. By my graph, mine averaged 1.44 inches per day, which is just over 10 inches per week, a little more than that in the first half of the growing season and a little less toward the end.

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