Chimonobambusa Tumidissinoda
Walking Stick Bamboo

Chimonobambusa Tumidissinoda bamboo may be commonly known as Walking Stick Bamboo, or as Qiongzhuea tumidinoda in China.

Spread and Growing Habit

Be warned, although unusual and beautiful this is an aggressively running bamboo and you could end up with an entire colony.

If you are looking for an attractive and unusual bamboo that will spread aggressively, give it some space and across 10 years it's a species that could spread from 3 m to 10 m (10 ft. to 33 ft.).

If you are concerned about the spreading you can grow it in pots or within a barrier, but be aware it may creep over the top of a ground level barrier.

You have to keep your eye on this plant because it may not be controllable even with a rhizome barrier! If it does escape, chop through the rhizomes to prevent it going further than you want it to. The rhizomes are elongated; leptomorph.

Height

The height a bamboo will grow to is dependent on climate and conditions.

As a guide you can expect tumidissinoda to reach somewhere between 3 and 6 metres (10 to 20 ft.).

Although to reach the maximum height it would need absolutely ideal conditions so generally it will likely achieve an average of three or four metres (10 to 13 ft.).

If grown in a container it will not reach maximum height but will still be an impressive and interesting plant.

Image: Shows variation from solid green in older culms, interesting stripes and blotches between nodes.

Culm Width

Chimonobambusa Tumidissinoda culms will be wider on a taller bamboo but are unlikely to achieve a width larger than around 3 cm (1.2 inches).

Culms

The new culms are a vivid bright green when they are young and the colour pales a bit with age.

The culms are woody with no nodal roots and internodes are approximately 15 to 25 cm long.

Culms arch over as they grow up and therefore need a bit of space around the plant to cater for the arching culms.

I have one in a pot and it arches in two directions, taking up around one and half metres each side of the pot when it bows further in the rain, and it's not even mature yet. So if you are planning to plant in open ground, be sure to leave enough space.

A recognisable feature of this bamboo is the bulging nodes that are considerably wider than the rest of the culm. Image showing an example of the swollen node.

The distinctively wide nodes are also part of what historically, in a region of China, they have made a living out of creating unique bamboo walking canes and other craft objects out of the culms, and why it can be commonly called 'Walking Stick Bamboo'.

Branches and Leaves

Usually three, but sometimes more, beautiful dainty branches hanging from the nodes in a line on arched culms make this plant quite an attractive specimen and a definite talking point for the garden.

The leaves are quite long and narrow, approximately ten by one centimetres (four inches by half an inch).

Hardiness

Hardy to a minimum temperature of -13°C (8.5°F), zone 7.

A temperate garden would be a good climate for Chimonobambusa Tumidissinoda because they originated from more shaded and damp locations such as in forests, and therefore often under the shade of taller plants.

Try to replicate the natural environment and plant in light or dappled shade to protect from exposure to full sun, and don't leave this bamboo in an area where it will be exposed to destructive winds.

Although hardy to -13°C (8.5°F), a container plant should be given shelter through hard winters. It is best not to allow the root ball to freeze up in a container.

I move my less hardy container bamboos into a small forest near my house as the cold doesn't hit that location so badly and the trees protect the bamboo roots from the hardest of frosts.

Maintenance

As with most bamboos you can take out old culms to thin out and tidy up the plant, usually start doing this around the third year.

Uses of Chimonobambusa Tumidissinoda

If you like to harvest and make things with your bamboo, culms taken out as a maintenance procedure can be used in crafts projects... or you could try making your own walking sticks!

In the garden, the Chimonobambusa Tumidissinoda bamboo needs a bit of space to cater for the arched culms, and it makes much more of an impact on its own rather than surrounded by other plants.

Variety

Chimonobambusa genus species are known to be aggressive in spreading habits. There seems to be approximately 35 species variations although I have seen more listed so I need to investigate that further to get an accurate figure.