{"product_id":"buddhas-belly-bamboo-bambusa-vulgaris-wamin","title":"Buddha's Belly Bamboo - Bambusa vulgaris Wamin","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost bamboos are bought for height or for a screen. Buddha's Belly Bamboo is bought for its stems. Wamin is a thick culmed form of Bambusa vulgaris in which the internodes on the lower part of each culm are compressed and swollen, so the base of the stem looks like a stack of green bottles, while higher up the culms arch and weep under long, mid green leaves. It is not Bambusa ventricosa, the other bamboo sold as Buddha's Belly; Wamin is the heavier of the two, with far thicker culms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is much shorter than the plain species, but planted in the ground it is still a substantial clump, well above a single storey roofline, which is why Australian growers sell it as Giant Buddha's Belly. A large, heavy tub keeps it much smaller, and that is how it is usually grown beside an entry or in a courtyard; in the ground, give it a tropical bed with room to arch where the culms can be seen at close range. Either way it is a feature, not an efficient screen. The swollen bases are the reason to own it, and a plant leafy enough to hide a fence at eye level would also hide the stems you planted it for.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWarmth, shelter and a heavy pot\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a tropical bamboo. It is comfortable along the Queensland coast and in the warmer parts of New South Wales, and it struggles anywhere frost settles: a light frost burns the leaves, and a hard one can kill the culms back to the base. In a cooler district, grow it in a pot that can go under a verandah for winter, or against the warmest north facing wall on the block. It grows fastest in full sun if the water keeps up, and takes a few hours of afternoon shade without losing shape. Soil should drain freely and carry plenty of organic matter, and a potted plant should never dry right out in summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a pot, go wide and heavy. A clump of thick culms is top heavy and catches wind, and the roots fill a container quickly, so expect to divide or move it up a size every few years. Planted out, give it a good metre of clearance from slabs, edges and services: the clump thickens at the base every year and will crowd a pipe or tilt an edge. The plain species has naturalised on the New South Wales north coast and in Queensland, spreading along creeks from dumped culms and rhizome pieces. It is not a declared weed, but never dump prunings or divisions near a waterway or bushland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWamin beside the screening bamboos\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor a dense, leafy screen in the same warm climate, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/malay-dwarf-bamboo-bambusa-heterostachya\"\u003eMalay Dwarf Bamboo\u003c\/a\u003e is the plant to compare it with. For a tall boundary, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/giant-timber-bamboo-bambusa-oldhamii\"\u003eGiant Timber Bamboo\u003c\/a\u003e is the heavyweight. If you want colour in the stem rather than shape, look at \u003ca href=\"\/products\/china-gold-bamboo-bambusa-eutuldoides-viridi-vittata-china-gold\"\u003eChina Gold Bamboo\u003c\/a\u003e, with its striped gold culms. If the job really is screening, start from \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/privacy-screening\"\u003ePrivacy \u0026amp; Screening Plants\u003c\/a\u003e rather than from Wamin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eShowing off the swollen nodes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe display depends on what you take away. Each year in late winter, before new shoots appear, cut the oldest and weakest culms out at ground level, and take the side branches off the swollen section of each culm you keep so the bulges are on show. Make each cut just above a node, where the culm is solid, so the stump cannot hold rainwater and breed mosquitoes, and never leave sharp angled stubs where people walk. Wear gloves when handling the papery culm sheaths: Bambusa vulgaris carries fine dark hairs on them that irritate skin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA potted Wamin uses up its food quickly, so give it a slow release fertiliser in early spring and a liquid feed every few weeks through summer; a clump in the ground needs only the spring feed and its own fallen leaves left as mulch. Mealybug and scale gather in the branch joints of sheltered and potted plants; check them in summer and treat a build up with horticultural oil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 300mm up to 400mm, priced from $139.00 to $229.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/fast-growing-privacy-screen-plants-australia\"\u003efast growing screening plants\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67670458138993,"sku":null,"price":139.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400mm","offer_id":67670459285873,"sku":null,"price":229.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/buddhas-belly-bamboo-bambusa-vulgaris-wamin.jpg?v=1791514026","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/buddhas-belly-bamboo-bambusa-vulgaris-wamin","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}