Here at WoWasis, we have quite a bit of bamboo planted in our immediate environs. And frankly, we’ve been wrestling a lot with the variety known as Bambusa oldhamii, also known as Oldham’s Bamboo. The problem with this variety is that it weeps an acidic liquid that etches car windows and paint and is not removable. Experts we’ve talked to claim the secretions are from aphids, but it’s not the case. So we’re going to plant another variety instead. Which is where Ted Jordan Meredith’s Timber Press Guide to Bamboos (2009, ISBN 978-0-88192-936-2) comes in. 

This handy book describes more than 300 species and varieties, with loads of pictures, growing and pruning tips, and importantly, great info on pachymorph (clumping) and leptomorph (running) rhizomes. Containing and thinning bamboo is a key to making it work for you, and you’ll want to be careful, as Meredith attests, to planting running bamboo anywhere where you’ve got neighbors nearby. We love Meredith’s book, although it doesn’t describe oldhamii’s secretion problem. But it does give us a number of other choices, and we think we’ll set up a test planting of another variety first, before propagating. This useful book is a wonderful addition to any amateur or professional botanist’s or gardener’s library. Buy it now at the WoWasis estore, powered by Amazon.