Ralph recently thinned out one of our favorite clumping bamboos, Yin Yang Timber.  This 2-year-old line of four plants started out with a single cane from 3-gal containers when they were first planted.  Now, 2 years later, the four clumps have grown together into a solid wall of green.  A little thinning shows off the beautiful canes. 

Every year, the new shoots that appear during the warm summer months are larger diameter and taller than previous year’s growth.  In larger-cane bamboos like Yin Yang, we like the way it looks if the smaller, more original canes are removed in order to showcase the more spectacular looking larger diameter new growth. 


The poles that were removed (shown in the bottom left image) are straight and can be used for building or craft projects.