Many people consider Timor black bamboo to be the most beautiful of all of the bamboos, and it isn’t hard to see why. The shiny black culms look like polished ebony, which contrast with the bright green of the leaves, making for a very graceful display.
Origin
Timor
Binomial Nomenclature
Bambusa lako
Common names
Timor Black Bamboo
Description
Bambusa lako is truly one of the most beautiful of all of the bamboo plants. The culms are dark green when they first emerge, darkening eventually to shiny ebony after a year. In my opinion they are more beautiful than Phyllostachys nigra, and they are a clumping variety, so you don’t have to worry about them spreading and taking over your yard. The branches are short with long pendulous light green leaves, which are a striking contrast to the dark black culms.
Diameter
2-3″(rarely 4″)
Height
It can grow up to 70′ in the tropics, but usually 40-60′.
Temperature/Zone: 250: F, zone 9b or higher. This is a bit more tropical than B. oldhamii. In zones lower than 9, it is likely to lose its above ground growth during the winter. This means that it will never be a large specimen, and it won’t ever have black culms, but it can survive. I know of healthy specimens growing as far North in Florida as Brooksville.
Light
Tropical clumping black bamboo loves full sun. If you live in a zone lower than zone 9, then plant it in the protection of a larger tree. You’ll sacrifice growth for safety through the winter. Otherwise, full sun is good.
Water
At maturity, a large stand of this plant is somewhat drought resistant. It is nowhere near as drought tolerant as B. oldhamii. With less water, the plant’s growth will be stunted, and more water really does mean more growth. Standing water for any length of time will rot the rhizome of the plant, and cause it to die.
Fertilizer
All-purpose fertilizer applied monthly during the spring and summer.
Pests
There is a scale insect in Florida, that specifically attacks bamboos. I use systemic imidacloprid.