Guadua Bamboo Planting Layout

by Ekepono
(Florida)

QUESTION: I am planning my mini Guadua farm on a half acre and some things I need to know are:

If you start with 25gal pots of Guadua, how much distance should you space them apart?

What is the estimated diameter of the clump after 5 years, and is there an average number of culms that come up each year or am I right to expect that the number of culms will increase each year?

I'm Trying to make a rough estimate on the diameter, length and number of culms I can harvest after 4 years.

Thanks for the website here.

ANSWER: Guadua should be planted each 5 sq meters. So that's 5 meters in each direction. Clear the area around the plant in a radius of 50cm and dig a hole of about 40cm wide and 30cm deep. Since the rhizomes grow just under the surface, it's best not to plant them too deep. The cleared area around the plant is to keep weeds away. You should also plow the area a little so earth is quite lose and the rhizomes can spread easier.

Mix some dry manure with earth and put it in the hole before planting the Guadua plant to stimulate its growth. Not too much though or it could burn the roots!

It's best to plant any bamboo at the start of rainy season, or at least irrigate them daily for the first year.

After 5 years you can expect culms of 5" diameter. How many, depends on climate, and soil condition. Guadua is not a traditional clumper but an open clumper so it can spread quite a bit. For more information about this see: Is Guadua a Runner or a Clumper?

Guadua can grow easily up to 20-25 meters high. On our plantations in Nicaragua we generate between 1200 and 1400 mature culms per year per hectare.

For more information about planting bamboo see this article: How to Plant Bamboo?